


The Path To Hell

by the_six_fingered_villain



Series: Universal Legacies [2]
Category: Dracula & Related Fandoms, Dracula (TV 2020)
Genre: F/M, Plot, Sequel, Sex, Violence, likely too long, tags updated as i go, various supernatural elements, very questionable consent, you know- the sorts of things you'll get in a vampire story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-02
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:08:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 41,840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27353248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_six_fingered_villain/pseuds/the_six_fingered_villain
Summary: Dr Zoe Helsing was the Flesh and Sister Agatha Van Helsing the Spirit. What's a Spirit to do when the flesh she inhabits not only dies but returns as a vampire? The doctor may desire no guidance but it's not like Agatha is going to sit back quietly for the rest of eternity and watch Zoe fall prey to the evil of Count Dracula...Sequel to Corporate Bloodsucker
Relationships: Dracula/Agatha Van Helsing, Dracula/Zoe Van Helsing
Series: Universal Legacies [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1997557
Comments: 24
Kudos: 54





	1. Preface

This story is a continuation of [Corporate Bloodsucker](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22891420/chapters/54714805). If you’ve not read it I've no idea how this one will go for you.... (though I will confess to being curious)

I really appreciate those who read & commented on the story and while I only had a small handful of folks make any indication of being open to a sequel… here we are again. Story ideas- they just will _not_ leave you alone sometimes, ya know? 

Of course I’ll much prefer anyone interested to have read the first story but it’s ~90k long and Zoe centric, so I can understand why some might not want to… Below is a spoiler laden summery for those who would rather not or simply need a refresher. 

Episode 3 happened. Zoe died and returned a vampire. Keen to enjoy a Bride- about any would do it seems- Dracula tried to woo Zoe though she’d have none of it.

The Foundation, under the management of Ernest Frankenstein since Zoe “went on medical leave” aka was fired for “losing” the only vial of Dracula’s blood, is thrilled at the chance to study Dracula more closely. Though offered ‘special’ volunteers- those who are willing to give up their life- Dracula abandoned Zoe to travel the new world only to return a couple months later having already grown bored with what he’s found. He had a new Bride in tow- Harmony- who he offered up to Zoe as a gift for her to study. Bribe, sorry, it was a bribe. 

Sister Agatha van Helsing, who ‘appeared’ to Zoe soon after consuming Dracula’s blood, continues to ‘haunt’ her distant relation. Unhappy with Zoe’s choice to focus on research rather than active vampire hunting, she is even unhappier than Zoe at Dracula’s return. Unfortunately a bargain is struck between Zoe and Dracula. In exchange for her becoming a Bride ( _and_ not go mad, a common problem with the role) the Count agreed not to kill (the unwilling) as well as participate in the Foundation’s research.

Though Agatha complains incessantly and Zoe remains reluctant, everyone at the Foundation adapts rather quickly to Count Dracula’s presence. No doubt years of working with werewolves- many of whom work security for the Foundation- helps lessen the shock though Dracula was quite surprised (and pleased) to learn of his supernatural relations. Especially fond of his apparent ability to control them much as he did the wolves back home. When Agatha tries to take matters into her own hands and possesses Zoe in order to try and stake Dracula he was again pleasantly surprised. 

Unfortunately, for her, the attempt was unsuccessful and Count Dracula went on to integrate himself with various board members. Drawing from his timeless wealth and undead charm, Dracula managed to finagle himself into replacing Ernest and assumed full control of the Foundation- a role Zoe had been hoping to eventually re-acquire somehow. 

In the end Zoe comes to terms with her fate, still able to pursue her research to ‘cure vampirism’ while acknowledging the fact that Dracula does appear to be quite fond of her. 

Key Characters:

  * **Dr Zoe Helsing** : vampire, lead researcher at the Jonathan Harker Foundation
  * **Count Dracula** : vampire, warlord, investor. Head of the Jonathan Harker Foundation
  * **Sister Agatha van Helsing** : ghost. Unhappily existing in the mind of Zoe, desperately wants to do away with vampires and Dracula in particular
  * **Gwen Bloxham** : Foundation employee. Friend of Zoe, fan of Dracula
  * **Lawerence ‘Larry’ Talbot** : werewolf. Head of security for the Foundation. Not a fan of Dracula or Zoe
  * **Ernest Frankenstein** : accountant. Interim Head of Foundation, replaced by Dracula. Helped Zoe keep her undead-ness a secret for several months. 
  * **Frank Renfield** : lawyer. Minion of Dracula, dreams of being a Bride some day, not a fan of Zoe
  * **Victor Frankenstein** : doctor. Member of the Foundation’s Board of Directors. Rival of Zoe’s, accused of causing her death
  * **Mr Gillman** : creature (possibly of a Lagoon? Likely a Black one?) . Member of the Foundation’s Board of Directors. Dreams of world domination.
  * **Dr Septimus Pretorius** : scientist. Zoe’s maternal uncle. Member of the Foundation's Board of Directors.
  * **Harmony** : vampire. Disappointing Bride of Dracula, donated to the Foundation and requisitioned by Dr Frankenstein for his work
  * **Dr Abraham Helsing** : doctor. Zoe’s distant father and prior head of Foundation. Current Member of the Foundation’s Board of Directors.. Has tried once already to stake her.
  * **Ardath Bey** : unknown. Member of the Foundation’s Board of Directors. Hinted to be able to help with the Zoe/Agatha situation…?




	2. One Foot In Front Of The Other

She was in hell.

She'd mistakenly thought she'd been in hell before, fervently praying for a dawn that had failed to come in time while the sounds of her dying sisters echoed through the convent.

She'd also incorrectly assumed herself in hell when the realization she'd been had- in a most literal sense- overtook her and brought with it the soul wrenching feeling of being a victim of the vampire's bite; completely at his mercy, knowing you were nothing more than a play thing.

She was definitely in hell now however, watching herself hungrily suck at the throat of the devil while he fucked her against a stone wall. Sister Agatha van Helsing knew she was only tormenting herself by watching, but it was hard to tear her eyes away. True, Zoe wasn't an exact replica but the resemblance was close enough to unsettle the nun as she witnessed the pair of vampires do things that would definitely not be happening if she  _ actually _ inhabited that body.

Agatha noted the minute differences between this near hallucination and her reality. Zoe lacked the scars that roped her own arms and there appeared to be a greater dusting of freckles across the woman's shoulders than her own, but nevertheless... Even to her eye it was confusing and hard not to see only a mirror image of herself. Though not a mirror, no. This twisted reflection did things  _ she _ never would. It continued to be so very troubling to so often watch herself take far too much pleasure in the company of the devil. If Zoe had perhaps suffered a bit more, she no doubt would not be plagued so with this... confusion. Dracula was evil, the devil, the source of much suffering to the world and to herself in particular. That he made surrender look so alluring was all part of the evil. 

Closing her eyes, Agatha turned around to face the wall once more. As they often did, Mother Superior's words came back to her for she again felt herself alone, without hope or help, holding onto the fact she still knew right from wrong...  _ This far, but no further. _ She squeezed her eyes shut as Zoe chose that moment to release Dracula's neck and cry out "Yes!" in poorly timed synchronicity. Again, Agatha pondered how much their thoughts overlapped as she studied the interlocking stonework of Dracula's office wall. Was there any of her in Zoe? Since she was in the mind of the woman, was she somehow made partially of the doctor? Perhaps that's where the treacherous feelings came from. Not her own.... but regardless of their origin, she still must endure them. Stand strong, firm.  _ This far, but no further. _ She would destroy Dracula. 

Repeating this to herself several times helped drown out the cries of enthusiasm, encouragement, and yes, soon devotion that signaled they were nearing the end. There was little worse than hearing Zoe call the devil Master and yet the woman seemed to revil in doing so. Eyes still squeezed shut, Agatha tipped her head back and offered a silent prayer. Her faith in God continued to flicker in and out of existence within her heart but there was no denying the fact prayers helped her think about something other than what was happening across the room. 

It wasn't the sex that bothered her, or at least the act of it. She'd stumbled across enough illicit couplings in the nunnery, at home, and in her more esoteric pursuits that the act was rather familiar. It'd certainly lost the titillation of the forbidden long ago and in truth had never held much temptation for her. The vows of chastity were by far the easiest of the ones she'd sworn at the convent. But somehow the  _ sight _ of herself and Dracula... Count Dracula, the unquestionably most evil creature she'd ever encountered... 

Though she clasped her rosary in one hand, Agatha raised the other to lightly brush her fingers against the cool stonework directly before her. While her existence may be confined to Zoe's mind, the world continued to feel just as real to Agatha as it always had. Cool to the touch and worn down through the years, the wall still had plenty of rough patches that would no doubt be unpleasant to be pressed against for so long and with such force. Realizing where her thoughts had begun to drift to once again, Agatha snatched her hand back and focused intently on her rosary, reciting another ten Hail Marys. By the time she'd finished, it appeared they had as well. 

Zoe was in the process of tugging down her skirt when Agatha turned back around. Of course Dracula still loomed before the woman, practically trapping the doctor in place as he murmured in her ear phrases Agatha chose not to hear. Zoe caught her eye and Agatha made no effort to hide her irritation. 

"Really?" the nun asked, crossing her arms. Her tone was one that would have set novices at the convent quaking but Zoe just rolled her eyes and looked back to the vampire leering at her.

"I have to go back to work," she said, reaching up to adjust Dracula's shirt collar. "That was... nice. But I swear I tasted... something. You're up to no good again, I know it." The man just shrugged and spread his arms wide, allowing Zoe to slip past him.

"But you believe me at least when I tell you we're not  _ plotting _ against you?" The doctor waved a hand dismissively as she wandered the office, picking up various items of clothing that looked to have been haphazardly discarded earlier. "Gillman and I are just going to... 'hang out' as you would put it. I'm giving you advance notice so that you  _ wouldn't _ get suspicious." Agatha wordlessly pointed to the shoe Zoe was failing to find, the item having been kicked into a corner. Zoe nodded her head in silent thanks as she slipped it on.

"That alone makes me suspicious," the doctor eventually said, pulling on her coat.

"Hmmm," rubbing his chin, Dracula nodded in apparent understanding. "But hopefully less so than if I  _ hadn't _ told you?" The woman waved a hand again, conceding the point but still looking about with a hint of desperation. Agatha rested her hands on her hips and arched a brow, attempting to convey her disappointment at Zoe's poor self control. They'd talked about this and Agatha had asked her repeatedly to refrain from biting the Count while they behaved in such a way. Drinking from him over such trivial suspicion only intensified the worry she was unable to respect such a reasonable request. 

"What's this?" Zoe asked, approaching the desk and plucking an opened letter from it. Looking from the elaborate script upon it to Dracula, she scowled and waved the slip of paper about. "This is from Bey. Are you exchanging bloody  _ letters _ with the man?" Rising his hand to tap at his lower lip, Dracula did a poor job of concealing his smirk. "It's the 21st century, business is conducted by  _ email _ ," she grumbled before scanning the missive as Agatha approached to read over her shoulder. "' _ Given the scorn you heap on the production _ ," Zoe quoted, holding the page out so that Agatha could easily follow along, " _ I've decided to not attend, unfortunately undoing the need for the trip entirely. Perhaps next time- _ What? You insulted his taste in theater and so he's now not coming? This is dated three days ago!? Why can't you two just email back and forth- Dracula, please, this is Important!"

Sighing dramatically, with the air of a much put upon child, Dracula replied, "I know it's important, Beloved. But he assures me he's a busy man.  _ Far _ too busy to idly pass through town for no reason. Perhaps-"

"You're stalling," Zoe accused, glancing at Agatha and away again. Talking about Bey always seemed to make the doctor nervous and the nun didn't like it. It was insulting to pretend like they weren't discussing getting rid of her, Agatha found the skirting around the subject cowardly. "Antagonizing him at the very least." 

"You know I abhor the rude," Dracula shrugged, approaching to pluck the letter from her hands. "And if I'm not  _ allowed _ to bite him, I see no hurry in meeting..."

"He claims to be an immortal being just like you- I thought you'd be  _ thrilled _ to meet another. You both have so much in common," Zoe clenched her hands in frustration as Dracula circled the desk and tossed the letter onto it before dropping into his chair. "If you would just  _ ask _ him to come visit and... help me... please." 

Dracula pursed his lips, leaning back in his chair and lacing his fingers over his stomach. "He's a rude, smug, bastard-"

"Oh, they do have a lot in common," Agatha muttered. The corner of Zoe's mouth twitched, but she pressed her lips together and tried to maintain a stern expression as she glared at the vampire. 

"-who has made it very clear that he expects me to  _ beg _ for his help," Dracula scoffed, clearly finding this requirement absurd. "Zoe, I'm trying to meet your many expectations. You said I should make friends- I'm meeting Gill tomorrow night. You said I shouldn't kill board members-" he held up his hands as if enough had been said.

"I'm sure you can arrange for a meeting with Ardath  _ without _ killing him," Zoe pressed, holding firm to her point.

"What else did you  _ taste _ today?" Agatha muttered, a touch surprised at the woman's insistence. Perhaps she'd detected Dracula was in a more pliable mood for some reason... though how one could possibly imbibe that was a mystery. What would it taste like? The flavor of agreeability? The idea of drinking such knowledge up again peaked her curiosity and Agatha quickly squashed the thought. Her interests in all things dark and evil had already gotten her in enough trouble- she most certainly did not need to be tempted by the thought of drinking blood. Zoe struggled against such urges enough for both of them. 

"Yes, I could," Dracula conceded, eyes narrowing. "But it'd cost me." There was a long pause during which the two vampires eyed each other. It was not the first time such looks had been exchanged and Agatha found she increasingly did not like it when they fell into such a stare. It wasn't like the mind control Dracula repeatedly exercised against the werewolves on site, more like a silent communication that Agatha was somehow not able to pick up on- despite being trapped in Zoe's head, hearing and seeing all that the woman did. "It'll cost me," he repeated eventually, the beginning of a smile already playing across his lips. "And therefor it'll cost you."

Heaving a sigh, Zoe raised a hand to rub her forehead as if she were already developing a headache. "No, I will not let you kill any of the staff. No civilians either-"

"I will dutifully arrange a meeting," Dracula interrupted, "if Agatha will have dinner with me."

"What?" Zoe asked, looking momentarily stunned but Agatha was having none of it.

"No," she declared, fists clenching. While Dracula often inquired into her opinions, her actions, frequently her location- this was the first time he'd been bold enough to barter for her company and Agatha felt like a fool for not having anticipated it. Zoe turned to her, a pleading expression already in place. "No," she repeated, more firmly.

"No feeding," Zoe negotiated on her behalf, despite Agatha's insistence that she would do no such thing. There'd been no further possessions since that night soon after Dracula's return and the nun was surprised Zoe seemed so amenable to the idea. She'd been  _ quite _ unhappy last time...

"Why would I  _ help _ you," Agatha exclaimed, raising her arms in frustration. "This meeting is about  _ destroying _ me! I may be in hell, but I'm in no hurry to be ejected from it until I'm certain I've made it a better place by  _ destroying him, _ " she jabbed her finger at the Count who smirked to himself, hands in pockets and head bowed.

With a look of desperation, Zoe bit her lip and approached. "Agatha. Please help. We talked about this, this isn't good for either of us. I need your help. Please." Agatha pressed her lips together and listened. "We both want the same thing, in the end. And I'm not going to- to get rid of you right away, even if I could. I just need to know." Closing her eyes, Zoe rubbed at them and sighed. "I just need to know."

"She has to remain for at least an hour," Dracula interjected, head still bowed. He was grinning, clearly enjoying the half of the conversation he could hear. 

"You will  _ owe _ me for this," Agatha intoned solemnly. She was pleased when Zoe nodded, after a brief hesitation, rather than bicker and bound the nature of the favor. "And no touching. His hands need to stay  _ off _ me." She recalled all too well how it went the last time she'd briefly possessed Zoe's flesh in the vampire's presence. 

"Well what's the point," Dracula sighed dramatically after Zoe had repeated this to him. He chuckled at the glare this earned him. "Fine, fine. I won't touch her," he promised, wicked grin making it clear he'd make a nuisance out of himself regardless.

Rather than call in her company just then, Dracula shooed Zoe out of his office, reminding her that she had to get back to work. "I  _ am _ looking forward to this morning though," he said with a salacious wink before closing the door between them.

"I'm going to regret this, I know it," Agatha sighed as she walked the halls with Zoe towards the doctor's lab.

"Yes, but I'm very thankful for it," Zoe replied, in a rare willingness to address her openly while at work, "so you should feel free to complain at length about it. I won't stop you."

"But you are just going to ignore me," Agatha pointed out, trailing behind the doctor as she entered her lab. "Rather defeats the purpose. Despite what you may think, I express my concern for  _ your _ well being- not just my own."

"Oh, I think you do it for fun," Zoe said, settling down before one of her machines.

"I assure you  _ none _ of this is fun," Agatha informed her. Zoe arched an eyebrow and Agatha amended with, "ok, the SEM is fun... and the centrifuges. But you understand what I mean."

"I do," she said, delaying her work to turn and face the woman. "I'm sorry I bit Dracula. I- I just get nervous when stuff about the board comes up. And-" she paused, hesitating before continuing in a softer tone. "I'm sorry. Of course none of this is fun-"

"Seems like it's plenty fun for you," Agatha interjected, flustered at the woman's sudden apology. It felt so strange to go from normally being ignored to apologize to that Agatha didn't quite know how to react. This earned her a tight lipped frown and Zoe turned back to the machine in silence. Agatha so rarely had the woman's attention, she was desperate to make use of it. "I just worry, Zoe, that you forget you've made a deal  _ with _ the devil  _ to _ destroy the devil..."

"Still haven't forgotten," the woman said in a frosty tone of voice, bending over the equipment. "But thank you for the daily reminder."

"Zoe, this isn't just another task you need to accomplish! You must be alert, wary. I'm worried that Dracula is... swaying you."

"For the last time, I'm not _ falling in love _ with him!" This was delivered in a raised voice and Agatha let a long stretch of silence follow it. No doubt realizing how ridiculous she sounded, Zoe lowered her voice and added. "I really do appreciate you doing this for me. You-"

"Promise me one thing though?" Agatha interrupted firmly, wanting more than just thanks and a vague future promise for her compliance. 

"What?"

"You'll pick up a cross."

"He's either going to be very angry or very excited about that," Zoe observed, turning again to lean back against her desk and giving Agatha a sympathetic look. "Either way I don't think it's a good idea."

"It's not like I'm asking for a stake. Please."

"I'm telling you, it's not a good idea... and I'm not even sure how you think I can get you one," Zoe added with a sideways glance. The Count had of course declared the item contraband during his first week in charge and had the emergency ones removed from all the hazard kits scattered about the facilities. Being caught with one wasn't grounds for termination, but the individual would have earned themselves a lengthy, personal visit with Dracula himself at the very least.

"I don't know," Agatha offered only a shrug. "You're clever, I'm sure you can figure something out." The doctor reluctantly nodded at this, too proud to disagree. In the end Zoe 'broke' into Jack Seward's desk- the young man apparently known to always hide the key somewhere about his papers. It was unclear how open of a secret it was that he kept not one but multiple crosses in his desk, though given his history with the current administration it was understandable. Zoe retrieved the smallest, leaving a sticky note of apology behind.

After tucking it into her coat pocket and then moving to a skirt pocket on Agatha's request, Zoe returned to her work and the lab once more fell into a silence. Agatha read the pages Zoe had laid out for her, interrupting the woman only occasionally to ask her to turn them. She was still 'stuck' in attendance when they were interrupted by a knock on the door and Bloxham stuck her head into the lab after badging herself in. 

"They're ready for you," she announced and Zoe winced at this news.

Agatha turned on the woman. "Zoe!" She seethed, only now recalling earlier discussions of the evening's plans. Though always a disturbing feeling, Agatha squeezed her eyes shut and  _ willed _ herself to not be there just then. It was something, months ago, that would have happened... But with the constant infusions of  _ herself _ from Zoe's persistent feedings on the Count, Agatha found it increasingly difficult to not  _ be _ . Opening her eyes, she glared at the doctor as the woman apologizes under her breath, pulling her phone out of her pocket. Leaving it and her jacket behind, Zoe joined Bloxham in the hall. 

Agatha crossed her arms and stood, waiting in silent frustration in the middle of the empty lab till everything  _ shifted _ and she found herself standing in a hallway. Zoe rounded the corner ahead of her a moment later and proceeded to walk past the nun without comment. 

"You  _ bit _ him before a feeding," Agatha accused, falling into step behind the pair. "Zoe, this goes beyond rude. I can't believe I just agreed to help you- how  _ could _ you!"

"I'm sorry," the doctor again murmured under her breath. Bloxham gave her a look and Zoe waved it off. "Nothing, talking to  _ her _ ." She was granted a sympathetic nod of understanding from her colleague at this. 

"Zoe, please. Could you at least reschedule?" The doctor caught her lower lip in her teeth but gave no other indication she'd heard Agatha's plea. Far too used to being ignored, the nun fell silent and resigned herself to her fate, struggling to contain her irritation with the woman. She'd only had to endure four of the vampire's feedings so far but each was indescribably unpleasant in their own way.

Entering the lab felt ominous, the large space seeming quite cavernous with so few in attendance. Aside from Bloxham and the two vampires- Dracula already present and chatting with their meals- there were three other scientists and a lone security guard present. While Dracula had performed one other dramatic, staff terrorizing public feeding beyond his initial demonstration, the pair tended to dine more intimately during their weekly killings.

Excusing himself, Dracula approached the women, smiling widely. Collecting Zoe's hands in his, he brought them up to drop a kiss on her knuckles. "Is she still here?" he asked, eyes darting from side to side and Agatha drew in a sharp, angry breath. 

"Don't tell him-" she started to say, but Zoe's clear glance in her direction betrayed the nun. The Count seemed quite pleased by this, looking over towards her as he drew Zoe to the volunteers. Though his gaze did not land on her directly, she felt a shiver as his eyes swept unseeing over her. 

Zoe, on the other hand, continued to ignore her as the doctor introduced herself to the youths. As usual, neither paid Zoe much attention given they were both transfixed by the Count. And, as always, Dracula laughed and acted as if he were having a grand time. "And what is it you excel at, pet?" he inquired of the young woman as he raised her hand to his lips.

"Fencing," the foolish girl announced proudly. "University team captain."

"Oh, I'm going to want a taste of that," Dracula declared. Raising an arm up, he turned and flagged one of the staff over. "We're going for a cross-infected sample tonight." Dr Kemp began to sputter some protest about team asks but Dracula just waved him away. The second volunteer, a young man who looked a touch put out not to be asked his special talent yet, was shuffled off to the side as well.

The first feeding was technical, resembling what Zoe assured her most of them were like. Dracula walked Zoe through some process that sounded somewhere between nonsense and poetry regarding how she should 'lean into the bite' and asked several specific memories for their victim to think of. Agatha wished she'd had her notebook on hand to write down what he'd said exactly since the words were hard to hold onto in the face of what came next. 

Zoe bit first, Dracula holding back and moving to steady her grip on the woman's shoulder as she began to feed. Just as Agatha feared, there was that  _ sound _ that Zoe made, a sort of snarl though her mouth remained fixed on the woman's neck, the wet noises of her jaw working were audible across the room. 

"ohmygod," Bloxham whispered under her breath, covering her eyes and turning away. Agatha just nodded her head, arms crossing as she forced herself to watch. Absolutely beastly. Zoe had tried to describe it to her more than once but Agatha still was surprised to see how completely lost the woman became when feeding.

She watched Dracula, suspecting his eyes stained a deep red, though she could only see the back of his head where she stood. This theory was confirmed when the vampire suddenly turned, bloody gaze sweeping the room. He looked at no one but looked everywhere. He was looking for her and just knowing it sent a shiver up her arms. Though it made no difference, she took a sliding step away from Bloxham.

"It doesn't have to hurt," he called, smile playing on his lips. "I promise you, I can make sure it wont..." Bloxham glanced over her shoulder at this and flinched at the sight once more. Dracula ignored her as well as the scientist who raised a hand and asked for clarification on the statement. 

Agatha just glared at him in silence. It wasn't that she doubted him or not- she'd suffered first hand how  _ little _ it could hurt. She fumed that in the months since Zoe's death, the only one who continued to reliably act like she was real was Dracula. An offhand taunt could sound almost friendly in the deafening silence that was her... afterlife.

Thankfully he soon turned to his meal, body pressing close to the sighing victim's and the pair fed in relative silence after that though several ecstatic cries escaped the woman's throat before trailing off. She couldn't tell exactly when the woman stopped breathing but they seemed to continue feeding long after it. Agatha had wondered what it was that caused the dead's blood to poison a vampire but Zoe'd been reluctant to pursue that research at this point in time. The turning point at which their meals soured was rarely reached before they'd drunk their fill.

Eventually the two drew away, Zoe swaying on her feet and Dracula supporting the corpse for a moment before handing it over to the approaching lab technician. "I'll have Renfield order us a pair of blades," he announced as Zoe stumbled over to lean against one of the desks. "In fact," he continued in a raised voice, "might do so right now- let's just pause of a couple minutes. Don't worry," he assured the increasingly agitated volunteer with a grin and pointed claw. "We'll be with you momentarily." 

Seeing Zoe stretch out on the table, heels of palms pressing against her eyes, Agatha let out a reluctant sigh and wandered over. "What happened?" she asked as the woman continued to lay there, unmoving. It was rather dramatic but Agatha knew the doctor had been asked in the past to not lay on the tarp.

The pause was long enough to let Agatha believe she was being ignored again but eventually Zoe let out a frustrated sigh she must have been holding the entire time. "I- I can't find it. I can barely find  _ anything _ ..." 

Agatha nodded and said nothing, feeling no need to console the woman about being a bad vampire. The idea of Zoe being able to easily suck information directly out of individuals was frankly a frightening one. She was happy that each meal was a struggle in some way at least. "Well he's going to expect you to fight-"

"I got  _ that _ ," Zoe interrupted, sounding offended. "But I can't find anything that he doesn't..." she clenched a fist, frustrated, " _ spoon feed _ me every time. The pool, the way he makes them answer..." Agatha nodded her head but forestalled her advice as the Count approached.

"Zoe," he admonished, voice lowered as he drew near. "You've been undead for a couple of months. These things take  _ years _ , don't feel bad about it."

"Yes," Agatha muttered, "Just think of the body count you'll have accumulated by then..." With unnatural speed, Zoe rolled off the table and onto her feet. 

Leaning towards Agatha she hissed under her breath, "not helpful," before storming over to their second course. Dracula lingered for a moment, gaze sweeping over her now that Zoe had revealed her location- moving in such a way that it felt like he could almost see her.

"Whatever you're doing,  _ I _ certainly appreciate it," the Count murmured with a grin before turning sharply and joining his Bride by the unhappy young man's side. Agatha swallowed and felt a stab of guilt at the flippant statement. 

The victim's announcement of his piano prowess was met with little enthusiasm.

Dracula's slow to form grin resembled a naughty child on the verge of a prank but the youth seemed to take it as a sign of encouragement. It'd be the third pianist Zoe had consumed but they'd agreed- she'd made Dracula agree- that no victim's skill would be turned away. Agatha agreed that it'd be far too humiliating to try and have the poor thing come up with another great feat on the spot to justify their death. Nobody needed that sort of pressure. Dracula had eventually conceded that the flavor of anxiety was most off putting. But still, it was well known the man abhorred a boring meal...

"Ah, the hands of a pianist," Dracula murmured, stepping forward to lace his fingers with the youth's, pulling the volunteer towards him as he dramatically inspected their intertwined hands. "Always so impressive," he added, voice dropping. The young man laughed in a high pitched way that teetered dangerously between nervousness and excitement. 

"So, broad. Strong. Tell me," the vampire went on, reaching past the young man's shoulder to draw a reluctant Zoe near. "Did you ever apply those clever fingers in any other  _ useful _ or  _ inventive _ ways?" The suggestive eyebrow wiggle was hard to misunderstand and was met with another burst of uneasy laughter.

"I- I- Uh- Is-," the young man began to stutter before yelping in surprise.

"Dracula, please," Zoe admonished, "no groping the volunteers. You know-" Her complaint was cut short by the Count spinning their meal around, forcing her to lean back and turn her head aside to avoid an accidental kiss. 

"I don't mind," the volunteer mumbled against her hair, clearly dazed by the experience. His head seemed to bob in confusion and Zoe gripped his shoulders no doubt in an attempt to steady him. 

"You can't honestly tell me you want to think about pianos?" Dracula scoffed, clearly addressing Zoe though the youth shook his head as if the question were for him. "At a time like this?" Running his fingers up through his victim's hair, the vampire grinned widely. "The final moment?" Leaning in, he whispered in a voice that still carried across the lab, "What would  _ you _ want to think about?" There was the beginning of an answer that turned into a yelp as Dracula yanked the man's head back, exposing to Zoe an excessive expanse of throat.

She hesitated at least, Agatha did see that. She had to take some comfort in that, though it did only last a moment. Jaw opening inhumanly wide, Zoe surged forward and clamped her mouth down on the young man's neck. There was a gasp, nervous stutters immediately silenced, quickly followed by a breathy moan a moment later as Dracula's teeth sank into the other side. The man's much praised hands clamped down on Zoe's hips, pulling the woman roughly up against him. 

There was a soft patter as a trail of blood escaped someone's lips and dripped down upon the tarp lain out upon the floor. The constantly roaming hands by all parties made it hard to see exactly who was the messy eater, but Agatha of course assumed it was Dracula. There was something about the waste- life taken and then carelessly dribbled upon the floor that infuriated the nun on behalf of their victim.

The hem of Zoe's skirt had begun to rise quite high by this point, guided by eager hands or simply the natural motion of rolling hips and a knee half raised and wedged between her victim's thighs. No doubt to better hold him in place, Agatha thought, rolling her eyes. She wanted to look away, but instead found herself drawn several steps closer. 

With one of her muffled snarls, Zoe viciously raked her nails down the young man's arm and Agatha was thankful she'd not given into Dracula's repeated requests to let them grow out. As it was, the woman left raised marks behind- painful looking through it hardly mattered. The young man wouldn't be alive much longer and he clearly was not suffering at the moment. While he did thrash and rock about, pinned between the two vampires, no one could have mistaken it as the struggle of one to break free- and that was even overlooking the fellow's now hard-to-miss erection grinding against Zoe's hip. 

The dying gurgle that marked the young man's last breath snapped Agatha out of her trance. She'd approached close enough by this point to see the blood welling up past Dracula's lips. What had been a trickle turned into a torrent as the vampire pulled back just then, the exposed artery still pumping futilely as the Count abandoned it and tipped his head back. Though his eyes remained closed, the nun stumbled several steps away before turning and hurrying back to her position by Bloxham's side. There was nothing to be gained by observing up close, she should have resisted the urge to examine them all together. There was nothing to be learned from the two, only something to be pitied. 

Just then her pity was entirely directed towards their nameless victim who's precious life blood was flowing feely and most wastefully into his shirt and onto the floor. When Zoe lifted her head and moved to the abandoned wound, there was a pleased sound from Dracula, the man leaning into nuzzle at her- further smearing blood from his own jaws across the woman's cheek. This turned into a kiss, which led to more groping though their meal's limbs hung limp between them. 

Zoe did lower her head to drink for a brief moment longer while Dracula continued to simply lick his lips and watch her. It did not appear that she'd finished when the Count reached up to grip the woman's hair and tug her head back so that Dracula could nuzzle and lick at her bloody face. The woman panted, leaning into his touch as the corpse between them was simply dropped to the floor. 

The doctor's lips pulled back to reveal wickedly large teeth. Eyes dilated to the point of looking black where not stained red, she looked about unseeing for a moment before settling on the Count's face. The happy sound that emanated from her was more growl than hum, and she returned the man's affections. Agatha rolled her eyes at this and glanced about the lab to find the trio of scientists were still attentively watching the pair of vampires pawing at each other. The guard was apparently of human and not werewolf stock since the man looked rather ill watching the scene unfold. Bloxham did eventually turn around and offer up a forlorn sigh that bothered Agatha as much as the wasted blood had. 

The pair had stumbled back up against one of the vacant desks by this point, and Dracula had already half undone Zoe's shirt. Agatha watched this in a rather detached manner, wondering if they'd reached the point of depravity that they simply mated before their observers after feeding. She made no effort to conceal her disgust when Zoe's near vacant gaze passed over her once more. 

Seeing the nun appeared to return the doctor to some of her senses, the woman pausing and then slowly attempting to detangle herself from the Count. "Not- not in front of the staff," she mumbled, pushing his hand away and hurriedly doing up her shirt.

The vampire murmured something against the woman's neck that Agatha couldn't hear but rather than make a nuisance of himself, suffered being pushed away. Idly, Dracula wandered back to examine the corpse they'd left behind. Zoe met Agatha's gaze when the vampire's back was turned and mouthed an apology as she straightened herself out. 

"Why do you let him make such a scene," Agatha asked with a sigh, approaching the woman as she scrubbed at the blood on her chin. There was a wince as Zoe took her hair down and tried to comb her fingers through it. 

"Good luck stopping him," the doctor muttered, excusing herself from the lab to visit the ladies room and attempt to wash out the blood already drying in her hair. Though the water soon ran clear Agatha wrinkled her nose in disdain.

"Please shower when you get home," the nun instructed, examining the back of the woman's head upon request. "I don't see any more but I don't want... I don't want any of that on me. It's going to be trying enough as it is." 

Zoe promised her she'd do so. "Do- do you want to be the one to shower?" she asked tentatively, peering at Agatha's reflection in the mirror. Standing side by side the similarities once again overwhelmed any discrepancies between them and they both seemed momentarily transfixed by the sight. "I mean... do you miss... being real? Do you want more time before-"

"I  _ feel _ perfectly real," Agatha sighed, "Being  _ you _ don't change that... And no, I do not want to shower- I'm sure Dracula would just make a further pest of himself during it. Zoe, I confess that I'm surprised you're agreeing to this. I thought you hated when I-"

"I  _ do _ !" The thoughtful look was momentarily replaced by a glare but Zoe quickly shook it off. "But this delay with Bey is driving me mad- more mad.... and you're doing me a favor and... if there's something I can do in return- besides the cross..." Agatha arched an eyebrow and Zoe turned away from the mirror. "And the other favor. You're right- this isn't going to be a common thing. Best not to get too used to 'being me'...."

"Hmmmm. Ideally the  _ problem _ goes away entirely... once you meet with Bey, yes?" There was a momentary hesitation at this before Zoe excited the restroom without saying a word. Shaking her head in disappointment, Agatha examined her own reflection with a critical eye before everything shifted and she found herself once more in the hallway and then in the lab not long after. 

Zoe spent the remainder of the evening doing what she did best- head down in her work, for the most part ignoring not just Agatha but the world at large- while the nun paced endlessly, playing out how the evening might go over and over again in her head. As it always did, time eventually passed and the knock at the door was a familiar solid double rap of knuckles. It was time to go. 

  
  



	3. One Step Forward

As often happened when Zoe traveled as well as in those rare instances where Agatha was caught between Existence and Absence, the nun found herself once more in the damp darkness of her lab. A frozen fragment of space and time, existing not in Zoe's thoughts or even in the real world any more, it was exactly as she'd remembered it that final, fateful night.

The desk was littered with papers, just as she'd left it and just as it always was when she returned now. Agatha dropped down into the chair before the mess and sighed. Pulling a mostly blank sheet over, she fidgeted with the edge of the page for a moment before reaching for her pen. Whatever she wrote would be lost when she next returned to Zoe's side but the act of writing had always helped her focus her mind. Clarity was something she realized she needed to cling to just then. She would be a fool to go into the meeting unprepared, and Agatha was rarely unprepared.

Dipping her pen into the apparently bottomless jar of ink, she quickly scribbled out onto the sheet-

What To Expect

  * Crass statements
  * Temptation
  * Blood
  * Innuendo 



She hovered over the last bullet point, certain she should brace herself for more but drawing a blank just then. It'd been so long since she'd interacted with anyone other than Zoe and the woman ignored her half the time. 

At the convent she'd had long periods of isolation and contemplation. After reading a book on Easter Philosophy- acquired from a traveling merchant and temporarily kept hidden under her mattress- she'd tried staying silent for a whole week. Locked away in near constant meditation she'd once again failed to find enlightenment. It had been interesting at least, but nothing like this strange exile that apparently defined her afterlife. Ignoring the bells and the Mother Superior's words about responsibilities was one thing... being ignored- invisible even- to the rest of the world was something else entirely.

It was with a touch of horror that Agatha realized she was gripped with anticipation. Not worry or distress but the feeling of excitement that felt like a betrayal to her sisters. Reminiscent of when she'd descended the many steps of the convent in a rush to reach the gate, Agatha was looking forward to once again confronting the devil. Last time, when she'd slipped into Zoe in a desperate attempt to stake the vampire, it had been a rash act that lacked sufficient planning or forethought. This time she'd be prepared.

Rolling her pen between forefinger and thumb, she contemplated what her hour might hold. A whole hour... Her game of chess with the vampire had been timeless, not taking place in the real world and therefore impossible to measure in her memory. Their interactions prior to that however had been fleeting and... she swallowed, forcing herself to confront the truth. And the interactions that'd taken place afterwards not ones she was aware of. 

It was dangerous not to know what you wanted. Easy to get confused in the heat of the moment. Clarity of purpose, a plan, had always been Agatha's strength. It was best to be honest about what she wanted. Agatha knew that she'd been lost at sea... but she had no knowledge of what had happened beyond the realization that she was the occupant of Cabin 9. Carefully she added a final bullet point

  * find out what happened to me



Swallowing thickly, she sat back in her chair.

There was no further line items added to the list by the time she sensed the open space behind her. Turning, she saw the stonework of her lab fade into the familiar, gaudy apartment belonging to Dracula. With a sigh, she climbed to her feet just as Zoe emerged from the bathroom, toweling her hair dry. 

"There you are", the doctor muttered as she wandered into the bedroom, Agatha trailing after her. "Do you have an opinion on what I- we- you wear?" she asked, pulling damp hair up into a ponytail and standing before the richly appointed wardrobe Dracula had provided her. Agatha hurmpumphed and suggested the most modest of suits. For once Zoe did as she asked without complaint, slipping the thing on and then standing for inspection.

"Have you nothing more... concealing?" the nun asked as she eyed Zoe up and down, the woman twisting this way and that before her. "I recall Dracula saying he found a habit-"

"Agatha," the doctor froze, staring at her with wide eyes. "Do _not_ wear any habit Dracula gives you. I know it might be a familiar outfit for you but these days-"

"I'm not so foolish or vain as to change outfits before him," Agatha scoffed though Zoe still looked uneasy. "I would simply like something that-" she gestured at the woman's chest "-closes. Fully. I've seen what he does with buttons-"

Rolling her eyes dramatically, Zoe returned to the closet, wading into the depths in a way she normally never did. "He said he wasn't going to touch you, I believe he'll honor that. And if he did want to _ravish_ you," she called from deep within, voice muffled by several layers of fabric, "a turtleneck, habit, or suit of armor isn't going to save you." There was a clatter of hangers as the woman emerged with an armful of gaudy dresses, unseen for months. "But let's see if we can't work with something here..."

In the end Zoe dragged on a sheer dress that hardly deserved to be called such given how high the hem line came to rest on the woman's thigh. It at least had long sleeves and a high collar in the front. The ridiculous swoop in the back was concealed by the sleek blouse and reinforced with a jacket. The suggestion to layer a skirt atop the slacks was rejected, Zoe claiming that the man's sense of good taste would be so thoroughly offended he'd _certainly_ do something dramatic.

They eventually emerged from the bedroom to find Dracula reclining against the table with an easy smile as if it had not taken them a ridiculously long time to get dressed. "Touched, as usual, by your continued faith in my word, Beloved," he declared as he stood and reached for Zoe's hand. "You look stunning." Rather than move to him, the doctor just planted her fists on her hips and gave him a firm look. "But please, continue," he gestured with the extended hand as he leaned back again, looking immensely pleased. "I'm ready for my... payment."

At Agatha's instance, Zoe pulled out her phone and set a timer, placing the thing on the sideboard as Agatha hovered nearby. The two exchanged wary looks, Agatha feeling uneasy to have Zoe so aware of what was about to happen. The two other times she'd done this, she'd caught the woman by surprise.

Dracula was watching closely with narrowed eyes and a smirk, looking far too pleased with himself as well as the situation, which did nothing to help settle one's nerves. Agatha hesitated in front of Zoe, suddenly feeling awkward and unwilling to step into the woman, at least from that angle. To enter the form backwards and in some perverse parody of an embrace felt wrong, unnatural. Not that what she was about to do- or what either of them currently were- was natural. Circling the woman, Zoe's head tracking her as she moved, Agatha stood behind her and drew a breath.

"Oh _tell_ me she's taking you from behind," Dracula groaned, catching his lower lip between his teeth. The sharp edge of irritation at his remark proved to be the motivation Agatha needed to cross the threshold. Surging into Zoe, forcing the doctor away into the nothingness she herself sometimes disappear into, Agatha stumbled a few steps forward before turning and glaring at the Count.

"Do you know how this works?" Agatha asked, straightening up as she faced him, her hand immediately dipping into pants pocket to grip the cross within. "Is this how you got into Jonathan Harker?"

"Hmmmm, no, that was a bit less literal..." Dracula replied, gazing at her with warmth and excitement. "Or more, depending on how you look at it. No, I don't know how you work." He paused briefly as he blatantly looked her up and down, appearing quite pleased by what he found. "I have never met what you are, but I have no doubt that you are indeed Sister Agatha van Helsing." He mocked her by sweeping a deep bow as he spoke her name, peeking up at her from under his dark brows. "I am _honored_ to be in your company for never before have I come across such... healthy competition."

The flattery mixed with revulsion and turned not just her head but stomach as well. Agatha clenched her jaw rather than take a step back from him. That he began applauding her seemed to undercut any real sincerity of his words as he continued, "You convinced me to kill myself. I remain impressed. And now? You've managed to return from the dead in new and exciting ways." Pushing off from the table he approached her. "I have never met anyone- _anything_ as fascinating as you, Agatha. Please, say you'll spend eternity by my side."

It was difficult, but she lifted her chin and remained unmoving as the vampire drew near. The urge to lash out, to flash the cross at him, to drive him away was a hard one to fight down. Though he stepped close, looming above her as she'd seen him do so many times with Zoe, his hands remained clasped behind his back and it appeared he wasn't going to lay hands on her _immediately_. 

"How fickle the devil's affections are- you would so quickly cast aside Zoe for me?" she sneered, "I doubt she'll appreciate hearing it-"

"Now now," he interrupted, gaze lingering on her mouth in a rather disconcerting way. The cross bit into her palm as she braced herself for a kiss that seemed imminent. "Zoe can be quite accommodating. I'm sure we could work something out."

Agatha scowled, rolling her eyes. "As usual, Count Dracula, your ego knows no bounds." Of course he smiled at this and she wondered what exactly he hoped to gain from this meeting. "Not only do you underestimate Zoe's determination to be rid of me, but to think I could overlook what you've done-"

"You're not still bitter about me killing you?" he asked with some surprise. "You did rather agree to it."

"You killed my sisters," she reminded him with a sharp smile. She'd promised herself she'd remain calm, cool, level-headed. When he threw back his head and laughed she pulled her hand from her pocket, cross still clasped tightly within.

"You _taunted_ me, Agatha! Did you really think I was going to let any of you live after that?" he scoffed. "If not that night, then the next. As if I could have a bunch of nuns spreading such a tale- it would have been an embarrassment!"

The accusation felt like a needle of ice piercing her heart. His words were ones that she'd considered- not just that night as she prayed to the sounds of her sisters' panicked cries but whenever she turned her thoughts to the origin of her current woes. "You would have killed us all anyway," she whispered, giving voice to the single fact she clung to in the face of such fears. "We had Mr Harker. We were doomed the moment he entered into our care."

"No... no, that's not true." He waved a scolding finger and watched her with narrowed eyes as he spoke. "It took a lot of work to hunt them _all_ down. Like church mice, the lot of you scattering to your little hidey holes- I mean, yes that initial batch of useless ones were rather easy... and wolves are good at catching mice. Did you know one of them..." He licked his lips, clearly searching his memory, "Sister Clara- yes, she locked herself in the bell tower. Ah, but you probably heard the bells. Very effective bat deterrent, that... Had to crawl up there and yank her out the window myself. Of course I'd gorged myself by that point, could hardly appreciate the flavor..." 

Dracula tapped his lip as Agatha felt a flush of rage creep up her throat. She did indeed vividly recall the prolonged ringing of the bells- she remembered everything from that night, and she was certain he did too. "But anyway," he continued, "what I was trying to say was that I only would have killed you and the girl. Maybe a handful of others but certainly not _an entire nunnery_ " He laughed. "Only you, Agatha, in your pride, could inspire me to such a great act," he said, chin lifting as he smiled proudly at the degree of wickedness he'd accomplished that night.

"I hardly suspect you need credit anyone other than yourself for the evil you commit." Crossing her arms, holding the cross she clenched against her motionless ribs, Agatha affected a bored tone. "Do you expect me to admire or admonish you for such a feat?" Dracula's gleeful amusement visibly diminished at that. 

"Perhaps reflect upon the ramifications of your actions?" he murmured in a dark voice, grin still in place but no longer quite as charming. "What has happened is in the past. We can reflect on it, dwell on it, reminisce about it, but we cannot change it... But you can decide, Agatha, what happens next." He leaned in further as he spoke, lips whispering dangerously close to her own but she simply turned her head to the side. "I would very much appreciate your company, you should think about what that could mean for you."

"Is that a threat?" she asked, finally stepping away from him to circle around the table. "An attempt at temptation?" She'd hoped to put some distance between them, but he trailed after her like a puppy as she paced the familiar space with different feet. Casually she reached out and adjusted a chair slightly, just for the joy of actually interacting with her environment. "If you think for a moment I have any interest in your company, remember that I am here only as a favor to Zoe. I find you-"

"You forget, Agatha," he interrupted her, voice tinged with amusement but still frightfully dark. "I was there, I've seen your deepest desire-" she whipped around to face him, eyes narrowing, "Don't tell me you've forgotten our little game." He lifted his brows and that tongue once more slid across his lower lip. 

"The game you lost?" she replied in an arch voice which he unfortunately responded to with a laugh.

" _I_ lost?" Shaking his head in mirth, Dracula tucked his hands in the pockets of his slacks. He seemed to recede slightly, the ominous edge fading as he resembled once more only a greatly amused gentleman. "Agatha, you died. I drank you up. _Hardly_ call that losing..." He rocked on his heels for a moment and she silently prayed he'd move on, find some other wound to prod. As usual, her prayers were not answered. "The chess game. That was you-"

"I prevented you from reaching England," she interrupted, knowing the fact to be true even though she lacked the details. "I've helped Zoe... thwart you, if not yet destroy you. Yet."

"Your hair was down, remember?" he continued, amused. "And we gossiped about the crew while we played-" 

"With Mina escaping," Agatha desperately tried again, "You could say I'd already won before you'd set foot on that ship. Zoe has told me all about her return home and-"

"You want what I want, Agatha." It was as ominous and as frightening to hear as she'd feared it would be. "The game, the challenge. You want a worthy opponent." He raised his arms, hands spread wide as he smiled at her. "And here I am. Don't tell me you're just going to... give up and let yourself be shuffled off the board. Not when you've yet to best me."

"I'm not giving up," she forced out though her throat had gone dry. Zoe always insisted that as a vampire she felt beyond mortal discomforts but Agatha found all too many of the responses her body once had had followed her into the afterlife as well as this new flesh. 

"You're here now," he pointed out, "to help Zoe get rid of you. Always so self sacrificing, Sister Agatha van Helsing...." 

"I am here at your request! What is this talk of eternity when _you're_ offering to help her meet with this man? You want to get rid of me just as much as her."

"I only wanted you gone when I thought you just a symptom of her madness. But now- Agatha... my dear, dear Agatha..." He was too close again but she refused to flee further. Rather than face the intensity of his stare she turned her back on him and gazed out the window. "The need for Bey's help, and therefor mine, has made Zoe rather pliable-" Tossing a glare over her shoulder at this caused him to add, "which I am _quite_ thankful for your help with- but I'll confess I've been stalling because frankly I'm in no hurry to be rid of you." He moved to her side and stood there watching her closely. "How's it go- _I want to have my cake and eat it too._ " He smirked, eyes hooded before he tilted his head to the side, exposing his throat. "Speaking of sweets, care for a sip? Zoe can't seem to get enough..."

"No," She was quite familiar with what his blood did to the doctor and had no interest in testing herself against _that_.

"It'd be much easier if you did," he pressed. "I assure you, you'll like what you find...."

"I am certain I could find nothing likable within you. Or your blood," Agatha observed, gaze fixed on the cityscape stretched before her. Urban life had been unappealing in her youth and from what she'd seen nothing about it had improved over the last century. Though her stare did not waver from the cold, over crowded sprawl before her she silently cursed her improved vampiric sight which made it impossible not to watch him closely, even at the edge of her vision.

"Hmmm... if you don't want to _taste_ all my secrets, Agatha, what is it you want?"

"Nothing," she recited, just as she'd practiced. "I did not _ask_ to be here. I simply want this hour to be over with." 

Again his spirits seemed to dampen and he paced away from her with an irritable, heavy sigh. "Don't be _boring_ , Agatha. That's just cruel to both of us." Sensing he was moving to the sideboard, she quickly turned and reminded him pouring a drink would not be tolerated. Rolling his eyes, he pulled open one of the drawers and lifted not a bottle, but a wooden stake from it.

"I thought you might be like this," he explained, approaching close enough to place the weapon on the table before backing away. Looking between the stake and her with unmasked glee, he shrugged off his coat. "I know you want to. Go ahead. I promise I won't even strike back. The 'no touching' only applies to me, correct?" Undoing the buttons at his cuff, he began to roll up his sleeve. "Zoe tells me you're very keen on them."

She drew strength from the cross within her fist- not from any thought of the Lord but knowing she was already armed reduced the temptation to snatch up a weapon. Battling wits with the devil required a level head- this was exactly the sort of temptation she'd braced herself for.

"Surely you've observed enough of Zoe's training to know what to do with it? She says you're very attentive." He smirked as he began to roll up the other sleeve. "So _very_ attentive... in fact, Zoe tells me you like _to watch_ some times. Naughty nun," he scolded her with a wink.

"I'm not watching. It's just, sometimes I worry you might hurt her."

"Oh, don't worry, she's having fun." He flashed his teeth at her. "If you'd like, I could give you a demonstration. Test out first hand how ... 'unpleasant' it may be."

"You're disgusting." She sighed, looking away from him as she uncrossed her arms and let them drop to her sides, tightly clasped cross still at the ready. While she did unfortunately glance at the pair when she shouldn't, it was true she'd paid close attention to Zoe's combat training, enough so that she doubted she'd be able to stake the vampire no matter how hard she tried. Such logic kept her from acting but the longing to make an attempt gnawed at her. His cruel reference to her personal hell wasn't helping.

"You've truly given up then?" he sighed, shaking his head. "The Spirit- broken. I must confess, I'm a little disappointed, Agatha. I wonder what will become of Zoe when she finally scrapes you off. What is the flesh without the spirit?"

"Not playing your games hardly counts as giving up," she snapped. "And I am certain Zoe would not appreciate that sentiment." The Count's persistence that she supplant Zoe was one she looked forward to sharing with the doctor- surely such news would strengthen the woman's defenses against him. "But I assure you, she does not need me. I am a bother, a nuisance, a pest. She doesn't want me here."

"Well _I_ want you here," Dracula seemed to almost sulk, folding his arms across his chest as he eyed her, "And Zoe has a way of eventually doing what I want, so I'm sure something can be worked out..."

"She's not wrong, though," Agatha pointed out sharply, "she has every right to try and be rid of me."

"As if I'd let such a thing happen." He laughed and raised a hand to rub his thumb against his jaw. "But I do find letting her believe the possibility of it makes her so easy to... tempt. 

"Ah, yes. You do quite rely on others to fall prey to their temptations. But see, that is why I'm cooperating. Removing me will make Zoe stronger and in the end destroying you is what matters."

"Oh, Agatah, always so self sacrificing...." he repeated, smiling to himself for a moment as he watched her. When he moved to undo the top several buttons of his shirt she found herself somewhat surprised.

"Do you think to tempt me, Count Dracula?" she laughed. "Do not forget I've seen it all before and am not impressed."

"Oh this isn't the temptation," he replied, running his fingers through the thicket of chest hair that peeked out from his gaping shirt, "though if it's enough of one I'd be quite flattered. No," now he ran his hand up his chest, raised it to his neck. "I was just trying to be tidy about it." And with that he dragged his thumb nail across his throat.

The aroma was sharp, overpowering, and her head spun. Agatha had taken several staggering steps forward before she was able to get control of herself. That Dracula approached sent her reeling back and she bumped hard against the window. The prospect of throwing herself through the glass appeared to be her best option at the moment but she found herself unable to move an inch further away. It in fact, took all her will power not to draw closer.

"Go on," he purred, swiping his finger across the sluggish blood that oozed from the wound. He extended the dripping digit in offering, "help yourself!" Agatha squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her lips together. "Perhaps you can see the appeal now, hmmmm?"

"Tell me, Agatha," he coaxed so terribly near. "In life you resisted all forms of temptation, freeing yourself of appetite-" it felt like liquid fire kissed her cheek. Eyes snapping open wide, she watched frozen as he again flicked some of the blood he'd collected at her. "Tell me, how well does that carry over into death?" 

It was overwhelming. The urge burned so intensely in her heart it felt like it'd consume her to deny it. "You _dare_ throw my words back at me," she laughed, pushing away from the window pane. Her hand holding the crucifix snapped out between them. There was a look of anguish that flashed across his features before he quickly turned away, swearing, driven back by the object she held. When his back was to her she quickly swiped her free hand across her cheek, wiping the blood away with a scrap of pocket lining she tore loose just then before shoving it back out of sight. 

Of course she was tempted to taste it. She understood perfectly now what Zoe had spoken of in regards to the feeling in her teeth, running her tongue over their now jagged edges was unfamiliar and interesting. Reaching the corner of her mouth and sliding back the other way, Agatha probed the tooth that occupied a space which had sat empty since her teens. It was a strange reminder that this was not her flesh, this was not her, and she drew strength from that. The maddening desire to lap at the Count's throat didn't subside, but she was able to at least keep herself from doing something foolish. Like lapping at the blood that continued to trickle from Count's throat.

"I am no _beast_ , Count Dracula," she announced, approaching him with holy symbol clearly presented. "Provoking me will reveal nothing except your own foolishness. Still can't stand the sight of the cross, can you?" She hummed in happy inquisition, enjoying the way the man continued to try and look at her only to hiss and turn away. He raised his arm as if to shield himself from the item but stumbled back at her approach. 

"You forget what I told you- we freed ourselves of appetite and therefore fear- it seems you retain both. Perhaps they are related?" 

" _HOW?_ " he snarled, bumping into the chair she'd moved earlier as he continued to retreat from her.

"You said yourself you don't know what I am," she practically crowed. It was exhilarating, watching him be driven before her. It was the same exhilaration she'd felt throwing open the gates. A small voice at the back of her head- her own voice, not Zoe's- warned her that she should be careful but it was hard to listen to, especially given how distracted she still was by the idea of the Count's neck.

"I hope you're enjoying your hour, Count Dracula." She'd maneuvered back to the sideboard and glanced at the timer. "Only 43 more minutes to go." There was a groan from him and he took several steps away from her before sighing dramatically and staring up at the ceiling.

"I am going to murder whoever got you that cross." Now that he wasn't actively flinching away from her, the Count's inability to look in her direction suddenly became a lot less amusing. As he turned away and wandered the hideous living room, Agatha realized he now merely resembled everyone else. An unhappy feeling had begun to curl within her, cocooned by the maddening want for blood, by the time Dracula spoke again.

"I don't suppose there's any way I could convince you to be reasonable?" he asked, pacing up and down the length of the table.

"Reasonable? You're the one drawing blood here." In response to her words, he reached up and thumbed the wound on his neck closed. It was her surprise that held her in place more than any stubborn intention and Dracula again swore under his breath when he glanced over and then hastily away upon spying the cross. 

"Fine," he snapped, voice conveying an irritation that was echoed in his step as he continued to stride back and forth. "Fine." Another pause. "Perhaps drawing blood was a cheap move." There was a silence that could have held an apology but didn't and when it passed he asked in a wheedling voice, "Is there anything I can do to make you put away that bloody cross?" 

It was on the tip of her tongue to declare she'd hold to it till Zoe's return but she paused. "A bribe?" she eventually sneered.

"A peace offering," he countered with, hands raised.

Her final bullet point rose within her mind's eye. She'd meant to hold firm against all temptations he'd put forth. She'd been doing so well. The blood, the offer of alliance, the stake. But the chance for information tugged at her in a way that was hard to resist. Could one accept a peace offering from the devil? Not likely, but Agatha had to know. 

"Tell me about what happened after," she demanded. "And don't lie. I'll..." she furrowed her brow for only a second as she thought of how to reinforce her threat. "I'll have Zoe check, she'll know if you're lying." She wasn't certain how reliable Zoe's taste of the Count was, but she doubted he knew any better.

"After...?" the Count asked, risking a glance over his shoulder and finding Agatha had already lowered her weapon.

"After you bit me."

"Ahhh... but of course," Dracula took several steps forward and then immediately several back as Agatha made a threatening gesture with her clenched fist. "You are of my blood... the spirit. Agatha, the flesh... she..." he chewed his lip, grinning as his gaze turned inward. "She did indeed go on a little bit longer... Set me on fire."

"So I heard. Second hand accounts. I- I want to know what happened. Exactly." When Dracula gestured to a seat, she nodded and they both moved to sit down on opposite sides of the table. 

"Hmmm... Like how she conspired with an undead captain to blow up the ship?" He leaned back in the chair, eyes glinting and clearly relishing the intensity of attention Agatha paid this.

"Undead?!"

"Well, remember where we left the captain?" Dracula began, smiling as he launched into a retelling of the events leading up to her death. Just like last time, Agatha found herself being drawn into the story and was quite impressed with how clever she herself had turned out to be. It's one thing to imagine matching wits with the devil, it was another to hear him confess to losing.


	4. Two Steps Back

They were discussing his time in the Caribbean when the alarm went off. There was the briefest flash of regret writ across her features at this, he was certain he saw it. She had clearly been enjoying his descriptions of the exotic flora and fauna he'd run across on his travels. Knowing about the New World and visiting it were two different things he'd found and he suspected Agatha, unlike Zoe, was keen to explore it herself. Of course there was a certain relish Agatha demonstrated in hearing about the world in general that only those who had jumped a century ahead could truly understand.

Rising to his feet, he joined her at the side table where she fidgeted with the phone, having silenced the alarm. "It's been a pleasure, my dear," he murmured, reaching for her hand. It was less her retreat and more the clenched fist she raised that gave him pause. Smiling widely, he drew back and simply clasped his hands behind his back.

She hesitated and though he wished keenly for some final cutting remark to hold onto, she simply... receded. There was a moment where her eyes back rolled in her head, body swaying as it seemed occupied by neither woman and then Zoe was gasping and sputtering. The cross quickly slipped from limp fingers, which he was deeply thankful for, and he kicked it under a nearby sofa, safely out of sight.

When he moved to steady her, Dracula barely got a word of concern out before her mouth was on his neck, teeth tearing at his throat and tongue hungerly lapping at blood that had been refused by Agatha. A sigh escaped him as his brow furrowed in thought. Why hadn't Agatha been so moved? Absently he pulled the tie from Zoe's hair, the woman seeming not to mind as it tumbled down. She continued to run her mouth over his skin, hands gripping the edges of his open shirt. Would mortal blood have been more effective? He had thought the offer of not just blood but  _ his _ blood would have been irresistible to the nun. 

His contemplations were interrupted not when Zoe pulled back to give him an angry look, but with the slap she then delivered. Looking at her in mild surprise, they traded silent glares. That she'd be upset upon learning of his offers to Agatha was expected. Zoe was often upset with the various things he did to amuse himself. She'd yet to pick a fight with him however, physically at least, and his interest was immediately piqued. 

Watching her face closely, he wondered if Agatha was recounting any of their conversation to her just then. Or perhaps not... there was a steadiness to her gaze, a fierce intensity of some deep, raw anger. Perhaps his blood had betrayed him on some other matter. Dracula swallowed carefully and watched her with a cool expression. "What did you think was going to happen?" he asked levelly and then caught her wrist well before she could land a second blow across his face. 

"I don't care if you're obsessed with her," she hissed, "but I cannot live eternity like this." Leaning forward, lips pulled back to display beautifully elongated teeth that Dracula ached to have raked across his skin, Zoe snarled. "Do not toy with me, Count Dracula. Help me be rid of her or you'll lose us both." This was followed by a sudden glance to the left, guilt or some cutting remark from the Sister drawing her attention.

"Ladies, please," he proclaimed, glancing between Zoe and where he now guessed the ghost of Agatha stood. "I'm sure we'll be able to come to an  _ agreeable _ solution- agreeable to all," he clarified as Zoe's glare swung back towards him. "Though there is no harm in making your feelings on the matter known," he teased, running his fingers up the back of her neck to tangle in her hair. "You know I love it when you-" 

His needling was cut short as Zoe attacked not his neck this time, but his mouth. A hungry kiss was pressed against his lips before it turned into a bite that was more vicious than usual. What followed was a lively struggle as they stumbled about the room, the Count deftly handling Zoe's alternating affection and aggression. There was a sharper edge to her wrath than usual along with two notable interruptions where she'd turned to the side sharply and positively hissed. Simply knowing Agatha hovered nearby, no doubt raking Zoe with her sharp wit and undoubtedly decrying their activities- or himself in particular- heightened Dracula's enjoyment.

When he did eventually pin Zoe to the table, several of the chairs having been toppled in the process and at least one broken, he allowed himself the indulgence of whispering Agatha's name against the woman's flesh. She was too far gone in the throes of her own passion at that point to notice but he held onto the belief their ethereal observer did.

Dawn was not far off by the time they'd finished and Dracula carried his Bride to her resting place despite her protests. There were several more muttered complaints as he settled her atop the British soil he kept next to his own dirt, the intermixing of the earth weakening the effectiveness of both but worth it to awake to such company. Despite assurances he would not forget, she was mid-reminder that he was to contact Adrath Bey when the sun thankfully rose and immediately put an end to her fretting. 

Smiling down at the limp form, Dracula caressed her cheek and rearranged her, as he often did, into a more dignified position. With arms crossed across her chest, those slender fingers placed in a mockery of modesty, she looked more coy than she ever did conscience. Happy to relax into the pleasure of an evening well spent, Dracula stretched out beside her and let the dawn take him.

🦇 🦇 🦇 🦇 🦇 🦇 🦇 🦇 🦇 🦇 🦇 🦇

Early the next evening found Dracula standing before a door, fingers tapping on the bottle he held. It wasn't too late to turn back. He glanced one way down the hall and then then slowly turned his head to check the other direction. Obviously there was no one to stumble across this potentially awkward scene but he was still getting the knack for detecting surveillance equipment. It'd taken him two centuries to bend the vermin of ancient times to his will and Dracula suspected he'd get the trick to these cameras some time in the next couple decades. 

The conversation he'd been listening to for the last handful of minutes shifted and Dracula braced himself. From the other side of the door he could clearly hear "Well we're going out- it'll be a couple hours. Don't wait up." There was laughter, a raw edge to it suggesting someone had already begun the evening's celebrations. "Real sorry to leave you like this, Gill," a familiar voice slurred, "But since you refuse to try and blend in..."

"Oh don't worry about me. I've got plans."

There was another burst of the jagged laughter. "Don't you always. Don't you always!" Footsteps and then a hand on the door. When it opened, Dr Victor Frankenstein, slicked back dark hair and a sharp looking button down shirt, was still calling over his shoulder. His younger, fairer brother was visible just beyond the man's shoulder. Both men pulled up short at the sight of the vampire calmly standing in the hallway, bottle in hand. 

"Hi there," Dracula announced, smiling widely and appreciating the visibly distraught look that overtook Victor. There was that flash of panic that Dracula enjoyed seeing in his meals just before taking a bite and he had to remind himself once again that the man was not for him. Ernest simply blinked rapidly in surprise, eyes dilated and reeking of chemicals that Dracula had learned to avoid. Dr Frankenstein's grip on the door remained as the man glanced between the Count and back into the apartment.

"You're hanging out with  _ Dracula _ ?" the doctor asked in a vaguely strangled voice. Peering into the nice but sparse apartment, Dracula could see Mr Gillman reclined upon a couch. The prominent, frilled gills that adorned the fish man's neck of course caught Dracula's eye and he watched as they fluttered faintly above the collar of its floral print shirt.

"Plans," the fish man repeated, nodding. "As I said. And please, Dracula, come in." Both Frankensteins flinched at that but hastily stepped out of the way. Flashing a bit of tooth as his grin widened, Dracula strolled into the flat.

"Victor?" Ernest called, moving out into the hallway as he pulled on his jacket. "Come on, man. Doors were thirty minutes ago." 

"Wh- what are you guys going to do?" Victor asked with a faint tremble in his voice, sounding not so much frightened by a threat of violence but rather the prospect of being excluded. "He can't go out, you know. Public sightings are a big No No- puts quite the strain on the PR teams." This was spoken to Dracula in a vaguely firm voice which softened as he glanced over at the fish man. "Wouldn't want to do that to Kathy, would we?" Turning back to Dracula, there was the note of desperation again when he asked "So what are you guys doing?"

Reaching into his inner coat pocket, Dracula pulled out the travel sized crossword booklet he'd picked up for the evening. "Cryptics with the cryptids?" he quipped, tossing the thing to the creature on the couch as he strolled across the apartment, heading to what looked to be the wet bar.

"Neat," Ernest announced, waving his arm. "Let's go." 

"Wow, cryptics... you British folk- got so tired of real problems so you think up extra silly made-up ones." Victor laughed at this and Dracula's vaguely polite expression did not change in the slightest. The cabinet revealed the expected selection of glassware and the vampire retrieved a wine glass. Clearing his throat, Victor raised a hand to wave his brother on. "Ah- You know, I've always really wanted to see what all the fun in solving them is.... I- I think I might hang back tonight."

"Victor, come on man!" Ernest cried, now throwing both hands up. "I'm literally dying here!" It was obvious to all that his brother was little moved by this. "I know you're optimistic about the medication but I'm telling you, this is the last hurrah. Don't leave me hanging like this..." The sound of Dracula popping the bottle's cork and pouring himself a generous glass was quite notable in the silence that followed. "Fine. Great," Ernest snapped, voice already disappearing down the apartment building's hallway. "Have fun talking about work-" This frustrated shout was cut off by his brother closing the door.

"Should-" Victor glanced about as Dracula raised his glass to admire it, bringing it close and inhaling deeply. "Should there perhaps be some security on site, Gill? Want me to call up-"

"No need, no need," the fish man declared, waving a webbed hand at the doctor while it flipped through the booklet. Dracula took a sip and wiggled his brows at the distraught looking Victor who watched his every move closely. "I'm perfectly safe here tonight." 

"I gave my word," Dracula explained, hand to his unmoving heart. Mindful of his manners, he set his glass down and pulled open the cabinet above. "Gill, what are you drinking? I brought my own but I don't suppose you'd want any of it..."

"Ah, can you grab a bottle in the fridge?" Dracula ignored Victor's request for a martini and strolled over to the kitchen. When he pulled the door open he was greeted with a series of bottles that looked to be filled with murky swamp water. Shrugging, certainly not one to judge, he grabbed one and wandered over to the couch, retrieving his wineglass along the way.

"I didn't know you guys were-" Victor began tentatively, moving to follow him.

"Dracula said I should call him next time I was in town and found myself with a free evening," the fish man shrugged, clearly seeing nothing wrong with the situation. "Don't act so surprised I have friends, Victor," the creature muttered without looking up from the booklet. "It's not flattering to anyone."

"Yeah, Victor," Dracula echoed, dropping onto the sofa next to the monster. He set their drinks on the center table before leaning back. Of course he draped his arm along the back of the couch, reclining in the most excessive sprawl possible. The doctor's mounting discomfort pleased him and he drummed his fingers on the back cushion as he contemplated how to upset him further. 

Playing with one's food was the height of fun, but playing with someone else's had the potential to be amusing as well. While he was adamant that Zoe eventually consume the man- an intent he'd not quite fully shared with the board of directors- putting the doctor on edge in the meantime was at least a little satisfying. His thoughts, perpetually distracted by the contemplation of a meal, were interrupted by the fish man turning to him and presenting a puzzle page it'd settled on. 

"Yogdaws?" it asked, "What do these numbers mean? And Victor, please, grab a drink and join us."

Shaking his head Dracula moved his arm from the back of the couch to tap at a different entry on the sheet. "While I do love a good Libertarian clue you should start with a Ximenean one. ‘ _ Scientist finding partial evidence in Steinbeck’ _ ," he read, "Eight letters."

Unfortunately the mention of 'scientist' piqued the doctor's interest and he seemed to fall back into the ease of the inebriated as he headed towards the liquor collection. He called out a series of unhelpful suggestions as he poured himself a drink, whiskey by the smell of it. Ignoring this, Dracula explained the rules and logic of the clue to the attentive fish man who nodded along.

The addition of Victor Frankenstein, while unfortunate, was not actually that detrimental to the evening's plans. In truth, Dracula had just wanted to savor the companionship of Mr Gillman- though near anyone would have sufficed. He'd always enjoyed the company of mortals and missed the grand evening balls of centuries past. The notion of hosting dinner parties was one he'd not yet been able to muster the nerve to mention to Zoe. There was no one to invite other than her coworkers and neither of them ate meals exactly, but Dracula missed the experience of watching someone eat or drink. There was nothing quite like the pleasure of witnessing a mortal savor a good meal. Also, dinner conversations were by far the most pleasant way to enjoy the company of another. At least as far as Zoe would let him enjoy such company.

In the end it was thankfully Gill and not Victor who figured out the answer was  _ 'einstein'- _ the doctor's potential gloating would have no doubt ruined the evening- but no further clues were answered after that as the conversation soon turned to other puzzles. Puzzles of the heart. 

The two board members were quick to inquire with shocking boldness as to how he and Zoe were getting along. His time in America should have braced him for it but how soon one forgets a flavor not frequently sampled. As much as Zoe was loath to speak of the doctor, Victor Frankenstein seemed to want to talk of little else. Mr Gillman seemed particularly hung up on the idea of how anyone would be able to look past the Count's more monstrous qualities. The attentive way in which it inquired about this suggested the creature was perhaps looking for pointers on how to secure itself such an individual. 

Always one to indulge in gossip, especially when it involved himself, Dracula was soon freely discussing certain aspects of his life with Dr Helsing. He was certain both board members paid close attention to all reports on the Foundation's research so he felt at liberty to talk at length about what they already knew. It was a joy to monologue so freely on his favorite thing- feeding- with such eager listeners. 

"And I tell her- every time- these sort of skills are developed over  _ centuries _ ," he sighed, dipping his finger into his glass and swirling the thick liquid within. Dracula knew playing with one's food was poor manners but Victor had already knocked over his tumbler once by this point and the vampire had detected movement in the murky depths of the bottle Gillman had been nursing. It wasn't that one should lower themselves to the standards of the company they kept, the Count consoled himself, but there were benefits to blending in. "She just wants everything at once, which while  _ reasonable _ is... exhausting." Mr Gillman was nodding its head as it listened to this but Victor scrunched up his nose and drunkenly peered at the vampire.

"I still don't get it... Zoe Helsing?" Victor asked, confusion clear in how he screwed up his face at this. "You could have anyone and you go for... her? Now that Harmony, she's much more... understandable." He licked his lips, features relaxing. "Yes, basically a savage creature but easier on the eyes for sure...?"

"I  _ have _ had them all," Dracula muttered into his glass before draining it. "But in terms of being able to... thoroughly sample more than once, Zoe remains the only one of quality."

Gillman looked a little surprised at this but Victor simply snickered. "Are the rumors true that you practiced  _ droit de seigneur _ back in the day?" Dracula nodded reluctantly at that and the doctor scoffed. "Before you turned? After?"

"They stopped sending them soon after," he sighed as he gazed into the now empty wine glass, a reminiscing smile stealing across his face. Those had been the days, when he'd been freshly undead and the prospect of eternity had still enchanted him. Everything had been new and exhilarating back then. A mad Bride was so easily replaced by an equally novel fresh one that he'd not noticed his plight till several decades had elapsed.

"How does Dr Helsing compare?" Victor persisted, slumping forward, elbow propped up on the center table and chin resting in his upturned palm. "The woman seems driven to be the best at everything- how does she rank against centuries of women you've hand?"

" _ 'centuries of women' _ ? Hmmm...," it was difficult to keep the amusement from his voice and Dracula easily turned the question aside, "the Brides, like Harmony, were all rather unremarkable..." Victor muttered under his breath that he found his vampire specimen quite remarkable and Dracula frowned at the repeated reminder the doctor had requisitioned his gift to Zoe. It'd been several months and still his worthless Bride remained held at some distant facility Dracula could only just barely sense.

Rising to pour himself a fresh drink, the vampire retrieved another bottle for the fish man and was surprised to find Mr Gillman keenly waiting to hear more. There was something about an attentive listener that always loosened the Count's tongue.

"Their novelty was always so short lived," he resumed, settling back onto the couch. "It's really the ones who got away that stand out." Gill raised its bottle and tipped it slightly in a silent toast to the sentiment. Dracula raised his own glass in a return salute before taking a sip.

"To the ones that got away," Victor mumbled, tipping back his glass. "May they rank lower than the top ten..."

"There haven't been that many... Oh and how they all hated me, quite viciously", the Count sighed wistfully, before adding "Of course all the ones that I kept hated me too." Dracula shrugged, eyeing the liquid in his glass. "But there are many ways to hate."

Though Mr Gillman continued to nod along to the vampire's musings, Victor petulantly seemed unwilling to let the subject of the doctor go. "I still can't believe you'd choose Dr Helsing," he persisted, "Of all the women in the world..."

Not wanting to confess that Zoe's sanity post-death was far more the exception than the norm, Dracula replied evasively, "After five centuries one's tastes sometimes evolve in interesting directions."

"Five centuries," Victor breathed, "Imagine all the work, the  _ eugenics _ one could oversee at such a scale. All your research, played out..." There was a note of awe to Victor's voice as he said this, followed by a noxious burp that rocked the unsteady man's form even though he was already seated on the floor.

"Yes, well, when you've a pallet for originality and a tendency to kill... I can tell you it does odd things to the populace, if you know what I mean." Dracula shrugged and was surprised to hear Mr Gillman let out a sudden gurgle that he now knew passed for a laugh. "Yes, I was able to maintain my shadowy rule over them unquestioned for hundreds of years... But I also became very bored. And lonely." The sentiment escaped before the vampire could stop himself and he paused. He was no longer able to simply consume his conversational partner should he slip up in any way. The notion of something private shared that he could not simply drink back up was easy to forget and strange to consider.

"I know the feeling," the fish man sighed, swirling its drink as something definitely darted about in the cloudy bottle.

"I want to understand and be understood. That's not unreasonable." Dracula announced raising his glass, feeling emboldened by the brief flash of camaraderie he felt with the creature. The fish man again toasted with him to this while Victor just shook his head.

"It's a good thing you don't want to be loved," Victor scoffed, the man's careless words striking dangerously close to one of the many contentious issues between Dracula and Zoe. Choosing that moment to stretch out on the apartment's hardwood floor, the mortal added, "I believe Dr Helsing to be clinically incapable of it."

"Just because she can resist your 'charms', Victor, does not make her a cold hearted creature..." Mr Gillman interjected, glancing down at the doctor sprawled out before leaning over to retrieve the empty tumbler from beside the man's head.

"No, that would be Dracula killing her and turning her." Though this was spoken flippantly by Victor, the fish man at least noticed Dracula's increasing ire, stilling suddenly.

The vampire narrowed his eyes at the mortal though the doctor had already draped an arm over his face and could not appreciate the glare. "I heard that  _ you _ were the one responsible for killing her...?" Dracula asked in a dangerous voice.

"There was an investigation, I was found innocent on all counts," Victor mumbled from behind his arm, "And I didn't  _ kill _ her... it was an accident-" He gestured angrily in the direction of the door with his other arm but did not get up. "Ernest was exposed to the compound at the same time! No one could think I'd  _ intentionally _ expose my brother to something so cancerous. She's lucky  _ I _ didn't press charges on her breaking and entering into my lab-"

"It wasn't breaking and entering, Victor, your brother let her in. Inter lab sabotage that got out of hand," Gill explained to a stormy looking Dracula. "It was Dr Frankenstein's work that irradiated Mr Frankenstein and Dr Helsing, but it was their fault for tampering with our research."

The possessive in that did not go unnoticed and Dracula traded wary glances with the creature for a long moment. Again the pathetic docter's work- and therefore presumed usefulness- stood between them. The sound of a soft snore escaping from Victor Frankenstein broke the extended silence. "So Zoe understands you?" Gill asked, turning the conversation back to what it presumably thought were safer waters. 

"She does, yes... in a way. Her way."

"I agree with Victor that she's... an interesting choice. Unfortunate that you had to wait 500 years to find her."

"Oh, there have been others who... tried. Agatha," the name slipped from Dracula's lips before he could stop himself. He covered this with another sip of his drink

"Ah, the nun you killed. Part of the Helsing family tree wasn’t she? She was mentioned in the Foundation's history I believe... Interrupted your move- well, you're initial attempt to move to England?"

"Yes, that's the one," he smiled fondly at the memory of their voyage together. "She understands me quite well... She is very keenly interested in me."

"Interested in destroying you," Gill clarified, clearly confused by some point.

"Oh absolutely."

"An admirable trait then in a mate?" the creature asked, head tipping to the side. "My understanding is Zoe would like you gone as well."

"Yes, naturally, but with Zoe it's so... detached. She wants the very idea of vampires exterminated." Shaking his head the Count indulged in a heavy sigh. With Victor unconscious, he found it even easier to speak freely. Relaxing further back into the couch, he confessed "I'm really no more than a figurehead villain in her crusade."

"But not with Agatha?" Gill pressed, seemingly intrigued by this distinction.

"Oh, no. I may be a figurehead to her- so fond of calling me the devil- but Agatha hates  _ me _ ."

"Hated you, no doubt. But understood you? I recall you killed her entire convent," it pointed out and Dracula nodded in agreement, feeling a twinge again at the passion she'd stirred in him that night. "From my experience I’ve found few can really understand that..." There was a leading note to that which Dracula took as an invitation to launch into his second favorite subject.

"Oh she started it. We've discussed it, I'm sure she understands. She  _ understands _ me." Dracula swirled his drink, gazing down into the sloshing red liquid. "She would never expect me not to kill. It's unnatural. Like water running uphill."

"And yet... here Victor is, unmurdered," Gill observed, the ridges above its eyes rising. "The stream does flow backwards it seems." Victor snored loudly at this as if to underline the point, muttering incoherently in his intoxicated stupor.

"A temporary feat," Dracula replied, dismissively. "I'll figure out a way around it soon enough and things will return to normal. Only Agatha could ever  _ really _ out maneuver me..."

"But she wouldn't have let you kill people either.” 

"True... Mortals are tricky about that. Always concerned for their own death and frequently over concerned about others' death." He drummed his fingers on the end of the couch. "Mortals... But she's not mortal any more..."

"She's not  _ anymore _ ," Mr Gillman attempted to correct, pausing to take a swig from its bottle. "You killed her too. You out maneuvered her in the end at least." Dracula appreciated the note of admiration in that, even though the creature was mistaken.

"She killed herself," he sighed, clenching a fist at the memory of her jaw under his hand. The feel of her flesh creasing as she'd grinned triumphantly at him haunted him. She'd won, they both knew it. He'd never known defeat except when his hands had been wrapped around her. The silence of an overly drawn out pause dragged his attention back to the present and he cleared his throat, raising his glass to hide behind a quick sip. The flavor of his meal clashed horribly on his tongue with his thoughts of Agatha and he nearly spit the mouthful back out. He did not want- he licked his lips in scorn, tasting the life nearly against his will- he did not want this youthful vigor and athletic passion. He wanted Agatha.

"To the ones who got away," the fish man repeated raising its bottle as it watched him closely and Dracula declined to mirror the gesture this time.

"Not... exactly," the vampire murmured, studying his glass. Given what he had to do and the nature of Bey that he'd already deciphered from the man's letters, the secret likely would not remain Zoe's alone for long. Best to get out ahead of things, as it were. "She ... persists. In Zoe."

"Ah, thus your fascination. The Van Helsing blood runs strong, as the saying goes. I heard-" 

"She persists in Zoe. As a... spirit. Ghost if you will," he clarified, watching the fish man's reaction to this, though it was hard to read the expression of such a strange set of features. 

"Wait, the madness-"

"Zoe is not mad," Dracula declared in a voice sharp enough to convey his displeasure at the notion. "She has consumed my blood, which carries... carried Agatha. Due to... unforeseen consequences, she now plays host to her great great aunt's spirit. Rather unwillingly. I've been tasked to contact Bey on her behalf to perhaps... Address the situation. You recall I inquired into his 'eccentricities' as you put them?"

"... to mock them, as creatures of science," the fish man reminded him, sounding unhappy for some reason.

"Certainly, certainly," the vampire hastened to assure the creature. "But real or not, Zoe has been quite taken by the idea that he'll be able to 'cure' her of Agatha. A most useful notion that I remain grateful to you for bringing to my attention," he added, which visibly caused it to relax though it still seemed far too tense. "But Zoe has finally... 'called my bluff'- I'm forced to arrange a meeting between her and this man." His tone made it clear how disdainful this idea was to him but his lips twisted into a smirk as he recalled- and kept to himself- the manner in which such a burden had befallen him.

Mr Gillman was immediately sympathetic to this, and the two traded various complaints about this absent board member. Apparently summoned back to consciousness by the prospect of slander and gossip Victor eventually pushed himself off the floor and leaned against the couch as he aired a number of his own grievances. Head lolling against the couch cushions and exposing a foolish amount of bare neck, it was in fact Dr Frankenstein who suggested how best to lure the board member here with the most haste. It was also he who supplied the man's personal phone number.

  
  


¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ BEEEEP : Hey, man, yeah, it's Victor here. I know the next board meeting isn't scheduled till next... August? Is it August? [indistinct background sounds] Fuck, really? Whatever- Anyway, I think you should come by and visit, man. We're getting together and we think [interruption of snorting laughter] I can't do it, it's just- [voicemail terminates] 

¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ BEEEEP : Hi Adrath, Gillman here. Sorry about that, we're hanging out and Victor got a little too drunk. You know how he gets. We're back in your hemisphere to check up on Ernest- his condition is worsening, but it was always a matter of time.... Anyway, hope your side projects are going well. We should catch up some time. [voicemail terminates]

¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ BEEEEP : Mr Bey, Count Dracula speaking. Apologies for being so crass as to resort to calling. I am surprised to have missed you- I took you to be a creature of the night... Anyway, as I've indicated in my letters, my companion, Dr Helsing, would love to consult with you on one of her side projects. The Foundation's work remains diverse and ongoing. Several other board members have expressed interest in some of our more recent research and I hope I can catch you up on some of our work in person... at your earliest convience. [voice mail terminates] 

¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ BEEEEP : No! [laughter] [voice in the background 'Victor, don't-'] Wait, no! [the sound of a shuffle] Do you really think- [muffled sounds] No, wait! [laughter] You know, for someone who claims to be immortal, you're really- [voicemail terminates]

  
  


With firm but gentle precision, Dracula plucked the phone from the doctor's hand and smiled. Flashing teeth that were on the edge of monstrous only slightly dampened the excessively drunk man's glee as he attempted to retrieve the device. It took effort, but Dracula refrained from snapping the man's limb in annoyance, instead passing the stumbling idiot into the creature's care. 

Pleased to have gotten the noxious obligation out of the way, Dracula excused himself before the wrangling of the overly intoxicated man could ruin his evening. A final parting word of gratitude to Mr Gillman was met with the startling, "What are friends for?" 

Keeping his smile fixed in place, the vampire blinked twice before replying "Exactly," and let himself out of the apartment. 

The count was halfway down the stairs, any number of flights preferable to the confines of the modern 'elevator' or 'deathtrap' as he would have called it back in the day, when he felt it. The faintest tingle that was both startling unknown and instantly obvious. He froze, nails dug into the wall he clung to having opted for a speedy descent. It wasn't shock that caused him to drop from the wall- no. He meant to fall those last several floors, landing perfectly smoothly if not so lightly. Crouched down, body hunched, he focused intently on the flickering  _ sense _ that had kindled in the back of his mind.

"Agatha..."


	5. A Jump To The Left

Zoe checked her phone once again and Agatha could clearly read 3:24 on the small screen before the woman angrily shoved the device back in her lab coat pocket. There was still no sign of Dracula. 

Perhaps sensing Agatha's thoughts or, more likely, attempting to calm her own, Zoe muttered seemingly to herself, "It's not like he hasn't skipped out on work before..."

There was a note of worry mixed in with the doctor's irritation and it set Agatha's teeth on edge. Somehow, despite being informed _verbatim_ of what Dracula had said and offered, Zoe had demonstrated no increased zeal to try harder to do away with the Count. In fact, the nun had gotten nothing more than a handful of hisses from the woman for her efforts. She'd instead been forced to endure yet another hedonistic scene and- Jerking her head to the side, Agatha fumbled to redirect her thoughts away from the dangerous memory of the previous night. "What's wrong? Worried he's going to _leave_ again?" she asked in a mocking tone, anger at herself too easily turned into anger at the doctor. 

"Obviously," Zoe replied sharply, sitting back from the machine she'd just bent over to glare at the nun. "The threat of Dracula growing bored and wandering off to cause more havoc is one I would be foolish not to consider." 

"You said he loved you," Agatha pointed out, not liking the tension in the way the woman set her jaw. "You should be worried about what sort of evil he's getting up to _right now_ rather than him simply leaving. He's not going to leave." There was a pause as she contemplated this. "Why would he leave now?"

"He's done so twice already," the doctor muttered. "And he got what he wanted just now- you." Her mouth twisted as she said the word. "He may have had his fill of amusing company and already be moving onto the next thing..."

Distress at the idea that he'd satisfied himself with her and the memory of him whispering her name had Agatha hurrily assuring the woman- "I hardly think he'd leave you alive- undead. Remaining that is. This time." Zoe nodded her head thoughtfully. "He plays with his toys till he breaks them. And your not broken yet, girl!" She'd meant it as words of encouragement but at the 'yet' Zoe's face fell. She gave Agatha a haunted look before turning back to her work.

Rolling her eyes, the nun turned away and continued to pace about the lab. The good will she'd earned herself yesterday appeared to have mostly dried up. Earlier requests for turned pages amongst the various documents Zoe laid out for her were met with increasing delays. Her polite reminder moments ago appeared already forgotten and Agatha resigned herself to another bland evening in the lab. Better boredom than some things, she reminded herself sternly. 

Trailing her finger along the edge of one of the lab benches, Agatha very intentionally tried not to indulge in her own musings on where the Count might be just then. It wasn't that she was looking _forward_ to seeing him after yesterday... but she had been anticipating their next encounter. Obviously she was curious if he'd mention his offer- his intent again today. Perhaps Zoe would be more moved to action if she heard directly from the man himself of his devious intentions to replace her. Surely he wouldn't try to negotiate another _meeting-_ and even if he did, it was hard to imagine Zoe agreeing a second time... 

Catching herself speculating as to what another encounter would be like caused the woman to shake her head suddenly in frustration. It was worse than Zoe mooning over his current absence. It was... daydreaming. Glancing guilty over at the doctor, Agatha was relieved to see the woman intensely focused on her work. Determined to follow suit, the nun turned her attention to her surroundings, hoping to anchor herself in the here and now. Already far too familiar with the area immediately surrounding Zoe's desk, Agatha ventured further afield. 

The orderly space that defined the doctor's domain slowly became cluttered as she approached the portion of the lab 'belonging' to Bloxham. The woman had a shifting schedule that put her in the lab with Zoe only a handful of nights each week. Agatha decided she was thankful tonight was not one of them as she wandered over, eying one of the many printouts pinned to a desk. The wasteful nature of the woman's various obsessions still shocked Agatha when she thought about it. Getting paper for her notes and records had always been an ongoing political battle back at the convent. The vow of poverty was easy in all regards except academic. Her need for paper- bound into books, loose leaf for her own scribblings, tucked into letters to exchange with other dark investigators around the globe- had always been a thorn in the Mother Superior's side. The chores and backbending Agatha had needed to do to secure herself a steady supply was painful to recall... and here was Bloxham, happily printing out every map, comic, Wikipedia entry, and poorly formatted news article that caught her eye. For what ends, it was hard to tell. Agatha's skepticism was brought up short as she surveyed a familiar photo. 

"What's this?" the nun asked, pointing at the murky silhouette of a shipwreck pinned next to several satellite photos of a very familiar coast.

"Bloxham's work," Zoe absently replied, tapping away at her computer as she recorded some hand written notes.

"Yes, I know the lab layout," Agatha snapped, "I meant this photo. Of the Demeter?" When Agatha had first 'joined' Zoe in her labs, she'd been shocked by the shrine to Dracula that Bloxham had constructed and continued to nurture in the months of his absence. When he'd returned and assumed control of the Foundation Zoe had demanded the woman remove it. Though Bloxham's feelings had clearly been hurt, Agatha understood the logic of the ruling having caught the vampire admiring it on more than one occasion. The devil did not need an altar to further puff up his ego at.

"I don't know," the doctor muttered, not even looking at the picture Agatha angrily pointed at. "Maybe she got nostalgic? Maybe she wanted someone to ask about it so she could mention her thumb _again_."

Eyes narrowing, Agatha scanned some of the surrounding items pinned up. "What exactly is Gwen working on?"

"I don't know, she has so many side projects going at a time..."

"But this, this project pinned over here?"

" _I don't know_ ," Zoe repeated, more firmly in a clearly irritated voice. There was a soft buzz and the woman pulled her phone out as Agatha continued to study the printouts, a bad feeling gnawing at her stomach.

"Zoe, I-"

"Damnit!" the doctor swore, jumping up and dashing from the room before Agatha could voice her concern. Muttering something similar under her breath, the nun frantically studied the board, trying to absorb as much as she could before her surroundings shifted and she was in the hallway, Zoe breezing past her in a sprint to the solar room. 

"Zoe, I-"

"I told you," Lawerence Talbot growled as the big man stepped out from the chamber at the end of the hallway, "we have it under control." His right hand rested lightly on his sidearm as he slammed a fist against the panel to seal the doors behind him. Had she moved quickly, Zoe could have slipped in before the heavily shielded doors slid shut but instead the woman chose to stop before the werewolf. Talbot lazily crossed his arms and glared as the doctor mirrored the gesture.

"Let me in, I can deal with her more efficiently-"

"Are you telling me how to do my job, Dr Helsing?" the man sneered as the sound of something crashing could be faintly heard from the room behind him followed by a shriek.

"Zoe," Agatha tried again to get the woman's attention. The doctor seemed to have fallen back to ignoring her at the most inopportune time. "Bloxham's research, we need to look at it more closely. I'm concerned by what I saw."

" _Stop_." Zoe commanded under her breath before lifting her chin and loudly declaring, "Now is not the time for ego, Mr Talbot. We're several days off of the full moon, your team is likely incapable of handling an escape-"

"Who said there was an escape?" the man interrupted, eyes narrowed. There was another muffled cry from behind and then the sound of solid impact against the doors. He didn't even look over his shoulder at this though Zoe's brows shot up. "The room is sealed. We have everything under control."

"There is no need to endanger your people-" there was another thump against the door and Zoe calmly spoke over the sound of scratching that followed, "-while I'm not a member of the security team, it would be foolish not to let me assist where it makes sense."

"What makes sense is for you to go back to your lab, Doctor." Despite speaking through clenched teeth, the man was quite clear. "I have been instructed specifically to keep you two seperate, you know that." The vampire rolled her eyes as this.

"Only to keep her calm- which sounds like a lost cause at this point. I'll be able to secure her faster and more efficiently than your team. I'm sure Dracula would agree."

"We've been unable to get ahold of the Count," Talbot tilted his head back and somehow managed to narrow his eyes further at the doctor. "You wouldn't happen to know where he is, would you? Obviously his presence right now would be... helpful." His squint was ridiculous but the fact that Zoe continued to ignore her prevented Agatha from being amused by the scene.

"No wonder Dracula is missing," the sister observed dryly as the two glowered silently at each other for a moment in equally ridiculous attempts at posturing. "Heaven forbid he be _helpful_ ." Neither reacted to this and Agatha huffed in frustration. "He doesn't want your help," the sister pointed out. " _I_ need your help- at the very least if you went back to the lab I'd be able to look at it more myself! The maps she had pinned-"

The twitching muscle in Zoe's jaw was hard to miss but before it could be made clear who she was more irritated with- the nun or the werewolf- the door behind Talbot opened. This was met with a flurry of activity.

For one, Talbot immediately turned away from the doctor to stand before it, placing himself between the threat inside and the rest of the facility. Out tumbled a bleeding security member, propelled forward by an only slightly less bloody teammate. There was a high pitched and prolonged shriek, no longer muffled by several inches of steel, that echoed about from inside the depths of the solar room. Spiraling up in pitch, it drew near but the doors thankfully closed once more just as a furious red eyed face popped into view from above. Though cut immediately in volume, the wail continued as the frantic scrabbling of claws resumed.

Both escaped security members toppled to the floor, essentially at the doctor's feet and Talbot whipped back around- still tense and ready to fight. "Zoe, no!" Agatha cried, moving towards the woman but the vampire had already slapped a hand over her mouth and nose in addition to taking several steps back. The growl that emanated from Talbot caused the hair on Agatha's neck to stand on end and the man took a menacing step forward, placing himself between his team and the doctor.

Had she made even the faintest move towards the poor, bloodied staff members Agatha would have intervened. The clarity of this thought shocked her when she reflected on it later, but Agatha was emboldened with the sudden knowledge she could save them from the vampire. She'd been able to resist Dracula's blood and it was hard to imagine anything being more tempting than _that_. To commandeer the woman's flesh would obviously upset the doctor but was no doubt preferable to unintentional harm inflicted upon her staff- on this she was certain Zoe would agree.

Thankfully the vampire did not fall prey immediately to her compulsions, though the woman's eyes clearly fluttered and she pressed herself against the hallway wall rather than just retreating. Zoe fumbled with something in her coat pocket as Talbot berated her. "And now you are a threat to my team, Dr Helsing. Return to your lab immediately or I'll have you escorted th-" Coming to an abrupt halt, the man inhaled deeply through his nose.

Zoe also drew a deep breath as she held a stained scrap of fabric to her face. Eyes closing, the woman slowly regained some of her composure as she drew several more deep breaths. "Dracula's blood?" Agatha observed, peering closely at what was indeed the lining from yesterday's suit. "Clever girl." It disturbed her that Zoe had found and kept the rag she'd wiped the Count's blood away with but that was a conversation for another time. 

When Zoe's eyes did open, they were of course stained red and though she held the scrap over her mouth the fact her teeth had changed was obvious by the slight lisp they imbued her words with. "Mr Talbot, I am well aware of the harm consuming werewolf blood would cause me. I assume any remaining members of your team in there suffer a similar condition?"

Talbot nodded sharply and after only a brief hesitation stepped to the side. It was unclear to Agatha whether the scent of Dracula's blood or simply the sight of an altered Zoe had swayed the man into compliance. The less injured of the two guards struggled, dragging their mauled companion out of the way in a panic as the doctor approached the door. Ignoring the pair, she glanced briefly at Agatha and then Talbot.

"I'd prefer to do this alone," Zoe announced from behind her impromptu mask. Agatha held up her hands in silent acquiesce while Talbot crouched down next to his injured pack mates and inclined his head to the door.

"You've got five minutes." The frantic creature on the other side did not pause in its efforts to escape as Zoe stood there and negotiated with the man for an additional five. Approaching the sound, Agatha tipped her head and listened intently as Talbot reluctantly agreed. When Zoe asked for a stake as a precaution he scoffed. "And risk her using it on you? No thank you- I can well imagine what would happen to everyone at this facility if something like that were to happen."

Zoe huffed, unhappy with that but apparently unable to argue the point. When she glanced back to Agatha, the nun gestured,."She's hanging on the wall right there, but the moment the door opens she'll no doubt drop down and try to make a run for it."

"Oh, I've no doubt," Zoe sighed, before she thumbed the door open. Indeed, the feral vampire immediately darted out, clinging to the ceiling and moving with frightful speed. She didn't get very far however before Zoe reached up and caught a handful of her hair. With a vicious twist and more strength than one would expect looking at her wiry form, the doctor yanked the vampire down and slammed her onto the floor.

"Please secure the door behind me," Zoe instructed as she dragged the shrieking creature into the solar room with her. Arching an eyebrow, Agatha watched from her position in the hallway. Talbot did indeed move to close the doors and for a moment she stood on the other side, alone there with them. Her brow furrowed as she watched the man grin and shake his head ruefully- a sight that Zoe certainly had no way of seeing and yet she witnessed. That is, of course, until everything shifted again and she took a hasty step back to avoid the dramatically flung form of Dr Helsing.

The force at which the doctor impacted the far wall with was impressive. Nothing was dented but the woman slumped to the floor, clearly stunned. "Maybe you should have listened to Talbot?" Agatha asked as the mad third Bride of Dracula's shrieked and threw herself at the doctor. Thankfully Zoe caught the woman's hands before her claw like fingers could rake her flesh. True, Zoe would heal up just fine but Agatha found it disturbing to see her own face mauled so.

"I need practice," Zoe muttered as she struggled with the flailing vampire, pinning one arm behind the woman's back but barely able to avoid getting clawed by the other. "Please, Allison, if you would just go back in your cage," she coaxed in a patient voice.

"Another! Another!" Convulsing and thrashing, the volunteer turned vampire resembled an overgrown two year old throwing a fit. "Let me out of here you _bitch_!" she shrieked before opening wide and clamping her mouth down on Zoe's arm. This drew a violent curse from the woman and even Agatha winced in sympathy at the ragged wound left behind when she eventually managed to free herself. It'd cost the younger woman an eye and Allison spent some time screaming about this as Zoe wiped her hands on her lab coat.

"Calm down, it'll grow back tomorrow," the doctor scolded. "If you would just return to your cage you'll find a nice bed of dirt. Have a quick nap, we'll slip you a blood bag, and you'll be as good as new."

The mention of blood shut the raving vampire up and she eyed the doctor warrily. "This is obscene," Agatha murmured, watching from a distance. "You should just put her down, put her out of her misery."

"I don't want a _bag_ ," Zoe's fellow Bride seethed, "I want a whole one. A whole _person_." Tongue snaking out to lick her lips at this, the creature seemed to grow distracted lapping at the blood that had oozed from her wound. 

"How about I give you _two_ bags if you go back now and lay down." Zoe held the woman's gaze intently, trying to keep her attention focused as Agatha spied two security team members slipping out of the vampire's cage to creep towards the door. Unfortunately Allison soon caught sight of them as well and the vampire darted past Zoe despite the woman's best efforts to tackle her. It was fortunate then the heavy doors slid open and Talbot stepped out to shoot the vampire in the face twice, the fleeing security team members sliding past him and into the safety of the hall. 

"I've still got time!" the doctor complained, wrapping her arms around the waist of the trashing vampire. The damage to the woman's face was such that her screams came out now as wet gurgles and blood splattered everywhere as she shook her head, struggling to break free. Talbot eyed the doctor skeptically.

"If she's not locked up when I open this door again, I'm putting her down. Dracula can make you another one later." Zoe huffed in frustration as the door slid shut once more and she immediately began hauling the woman towards the cage.

"Thank goodness you have the situation under control!" she shouted at the closed door. "Hey, stop that!" Shifting her grip on the struggling woman, Zoe tried to again restrain both hands frantically clawing at her.

"She's worse than the last one," Agatha sighed, circling the pair. "It's too bad he doesn't let you decide which one to keep." The effort to drag the resistant vampire to her cage prevented Zoe from replying so the nun continued. "Do you suppose he retains the least ideal candidate as his Bride intentionally to thwart the research?" she mused "Or is his... _taste_ that abismal?" 

"What are you trying to suggest?" Zoe asked, raising a leg to kick at the vampire she'd managed to force into the cage. "Back! Back!" Before she could defend the Count's taste in Brides, Allison managed to grab hold of the woman's ankle and yank her into the cage with her.

"Hmmm," Agatha hummed, watching the two thrash about in the small enclosure. "That he is being deliberately unhelpful." It required the removal of another eye before Zoe was able to evade the woman's grasp long enough to escape the cage herself and secure it behind her.

"I don't need his help," Zoe snapped, as the heavy doors leading to the hallway slid open. "A vampire is a vampire. The quality of specimen he lets me keep need simply meet the requirements 'is undead' and 'drinks blood'- which you do so admirably, Allison!" The doctor pat the wall of the cage she leaned against as she said this, the mauled vampire having stumbled up against the glass nearest her. Allison bumped against the enclosure, leaving a bloody smear which she further misted with the faint blood splatter of a burbling scream. 

"A little bit messy," Talbot criticized as he approached, "but I appreciate that no one else got hurt." The bite mark on Zoe's arm was messy and quite noticeable, causing Agatha to scowl at the man. The doctor said nothing, pushing herself to her feet and beginning to tidy herself up. "She hypnotized Kessler in case you're curious."

"Oh, I heard. Dr K- Damnit!" Zoe swore as she pulled her phone from her coat pocket, the dent in the screen more than just superficial. A shard of the glass fell free and shattered further on the floor when the woman tried to turn it on.

"She was screaming about 'another'," Talbot went on, moving past the doctor towards the wall she'd been thrown against. "Any idea of what that might be about?" Bending down, he plucked the small scrap of fabric that had fallen to the side during the vampires' fight. 

"No," Zoe muttered darkly, hurrying over to pluck the rag stained with Dracula's blood that the large man dangled before her. There was a hesitation- an obvious urge to rise it again to her nose but she shoved the thing back into her coat pocket. "There's been no activity in yesterday's subjects." Glancing at the dead device she clutched, she added, "that I've heard of."

"Sure you don't feel a tickle?" the man proded, watching the doctor carefully. The woman shot him a withering glare and he shrugged, moving forward to tap on the glass of the cage. "Too bad we can't ask her now..." 

"If you'd just let me manage the situation as I asked, she'd still have a working jaw," the doctor muttered, moving to stand next to him and the pair observed the unhappy, mauled creature that blindly paced its cage.

"And I'd be down two staff members," he countered with. 

Zoe scoffed, "Werewolves are very resilient, as so you keep telling me. I'm sure any damage she could have managed would have been... superficial."

" _I_ have a theory," Agatha interjected from where she stood behind the two. Zoe turned her head ever so slightly, not exactly glancing back over her shoulder but making it clear she was listening. 

"Based on Bloxham's latest interests-" the nun started but stopped, frustrated, as the werewolf spoke over her. Those who couldn't see her couldn't be blamed for interrupting her but she still found it frustrating. 

"What is it? Do you sense something?" Talbot asked with a sudden sharpness that contrasted with the near mocking tone he'd used when bantering with the doctor. "Is Dracula...?"

"No," Zoe sighed, stepping away from the cage. "No, it's just..." she waved a hand in Agatha's direction and the nun did not appreciate the way the man rolled his eyes at this. "Let me know when she calms down, I'll be in my lab for the next hour." Talbot gave her a curt nod and Zoe hurried out of the room after a quick glance towards Agatha. The nun hurried to catch up with her- begin dragged about unwillingly by Zoe's movements was rather annoying once the novelty wore off.

"Well?" the doctor prompted under her breath as she headed back to the lab.

"I want to look at the map," Agatha deflected with, suddenly unwilling to voice her fears. What had been an uneasy inkling earlier had solidified into a very real fear. She worried Zoe wasn't going to handle it well and she didn't want the woman to have a fit in the middle of the hallway.

"Oh _now_ you decide to be cryptic," Zoe complained, badging into her lab and moving to Bloxham's wall straight away. "Agatha, I'm not in the mood." Standing before the mess of pages and pins, she crossed her arms and scanned it briefly. "Tell me what you see. Because this just looks like Bloxham's usual method of..." Trailing off, brow furrowing, she leaned in closely to inspect the printouts that had caught the nun's attention earlier. Unlike Agatha, she was able to reach out and nudge some aside, revealing fragments of information that had been concealed by overlapping pages.

Frustrated she was incapable of the simple act of _moving a page out of the way_ Agatha tried to focus on the new information rather than the unfortunate nature of her situation. "CIN Laboratories?" Agatha read aloud and glanced at Zoe who chewed on her lower lip. She'd definitely heard the name before but there were so many new facts in this world she'd awoken to, it was hard to keep track of them all.

"The Chimera Innovation Network," the doctor explained, digging more frantically at the sheets on the board, unpinning some to let them fall to the floor and revealing more underneath. "The co-op my uncle’s labs are part of- that’s his department number,” she tapped one of the printouts, “But why would he want-"

The two women exchanged a look, the horror on Zoe's face making it clear she finally was catching onto the fact they might have a problem on their hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaaand I just fucked up my finger last night real bad, making typing very hard.... had been looking forward to a week off for writing and relaxation and now :-/ this might impact the update time of future chapters... that, and the fact I've another story in a different fandom chewing on my brain and stealing precious writing bandwidth... 
> 
> as always, I desperately appreciate the feedback folks leave, even if I'm too neurotic to actually manage to replay to any of it. thank you- it means a lot to me to know folks are following along...


	6. A Step To The Right

Peering through the microscope, Griffin sighed heavily as if the boredom he felt bearing down was squeezing the very breath from him. The slide before him was unremarkable, yet again, and he didn't know what was worse- the prospect of reporting more failed tests or going through the effort to falsify reports enough to show  _ something _ . Pushing away from the desk, he huffed again in disappointment and exasperation. Across the bench Cadence remained bent over her microscope, in no way reacting to this.

Eyes narrowing, Griffin glared at the woman and mentally cursed all his current co-workers. Back at the Jonathan Harker Foundation someone would have cared, would have asked him how it was going. "Are you seeing any interesting results with your batch?" he asked casually as he stood up to stretch.

"No, Griffin, you cannot copy off my homework," the woman muttered, not looking up as she fiddled with the knobs, adjusting something. He scowled, realizing that the option of falsifying the reports was gone now. Cadence increasingly seemed to be out to get him- she'd already reported him once for mishandling samples. There was something about the woman that reminded him of Dr Helsing and he hated her for it. 

"Jesus, woman. Just trying to make polite conversation," he mumbled defensively before making a vague excuse and darting out of the lab. What he needed were results, which meant another round of tests and likely another four hours of his life sacrificed for another man's research. Working for Dr Frankenstein was better than leaving the occult entirely but it was a far cry from any of the alchemical work he'd dreamed of at the start of his career.

The test subject was to the left but Griffin turned right at the end of the hallway, in no hurry to resume his labors. Rubbing at his eyes, he decided to detour to the break room and subject himself to another cup or three of office coffee. Working the night shift for several months now had not made working through the night any less wretched.

Hands shoved in pockets and wallowing in self pity, he was halfway down the hall before he spotted Ernest Frankenstein standing there, peering through the observation window into one of Dr Petrous's labs. Griffin swore softly under his breath but before he could backtrack and slip away the man glanced over, noticing him. 

"How are the results looking?" he asked and Griffin winced. This was exactly what he didn't need right now.

"Oh... you know... too soon to say," he replied, following it up with a quick question to distract with. "It's a bit late for you, isn't it Mr Frankenstein?" He eyed the loud button down shirt the man wore along with a gold chain that peaked out from his undone collar and relaxed slightly. There were lots of rumors relating to how the younger Frankenstein spent his time and Griffin wondered if the man had simply wandered back to the office, wasted and confused.

"It is," Ernest agreed in a hollow voice before turning back to the window. Griffin should have left it at that, but the intensity with which the man stared at whatever was going on in there peaked his interest. The facility supported multiple labs run by several researchers, all who had come together over a shared interest in questionable subjects and exotic methodologies. Rather than work in secret, all CIN labs featured extensive observation windows as if each team wished to flaunt and exhibit their work. It was a slightly more sterile version of the medical theaters of old and was the only thing that passed for office culture here.

More curious about the work being done than conversing with a clearly out of it Ernest, Griffin approached cautiously. Unsurprisingly a motionless figure lay on a stainless steel table, thankfully covered with a sheet. Dr Pretorius was known to be bad as Frankenstein when it came to his constant mucking with corpses. What was mildly surprising was the second form, further back, twitching slightly with the now familiar throes of the undead. A sheet had been thrown over it as well.

"Another one from the Harker Foundation?" he asked, surprised Dr Helsing would let any more specimens out of her lab, the bitch was always so covetous of her research materials. "Didn't think Septimus was interested in the undead?"

"He's not. It's not," Ernest muttered. "Outside supplier. Arrived yesterday, I heard."

"Must be quite the subject to lure you back into work at this hour," Griffin joked but quickly swallowed his grin at the dead look in Ernest's eye when the man glanced at him again.

"Plans fell through." Griffin just nodded silently at that. Both men watched as the sheet was partially folded back and one of the attending staff applied a medical staple gun to the exposed pallid flesh of a calf. By the time the team gathered around the form and transferred it from the table into a rolling crate Griffin was already losing interest.

"Know what project this is?" he asked, and was unsurprised when the accountant shook his head. "I saw them cutting up a shark here last week," Griffin shared but Ernest barely responded. He wondered if the man was tripping on anything at the moment given the unfocused look he'd taken on. 

Thinking the conversation over, Griffin had been about to resume his quest for coffee when Ernest suddenly asked "There's more to life than work, isn't there?" Definitely wasted.

"Depends on who you ask," Griffin joked and then hurried away before the man could start espousing the sort of melancholy nonsense the drunk were fond of. 

The coffee pot was nearly as empty as the break room and Griffin further bemoaned his bad luck, pouring what remained into his cup and leaving the empty pot behind for the next sorry lab rat looking for some chemical assistance. Ernest was gone by the time he passed Pretorius's labs on the way back. The only movement visible now was the slow, steady writhing of the covered undead and Griffin suppressed a shutter, hurrying on to the other half of the floor where Dr Frankenstein's labs were clustered.

Unlimited access to the doctor's specimen was about the only good thing the job had going for it. On a normal day Griffin enjoyed the sample collection process and would linger over the subject, thrilling at the freedom to dig out, cut out, pull out, or detach whatever he needed from her. When he had difficulty sleeping, haunted by memories of his last day of employment at the Harker Foundation, he particularly enjoyed the process and would offer to collect his lab mate's samples as well. Today however he felt only the crushing weight of unmet expectations and directed the lab tech get what he needed from the sulking vampire. 

Griffin nursed his disgusting, lukewarm drink as he waited- the process of restraining the creature always taking longer than expected. The complaint he muttered when handed the baggie containing his dripping lumps of flesh was lost in the woman's wailing. Shaking his head, he headed back to his lab, unhappy with how much time had already been wasted. Why didn't they just keep the specimen strapped down for sample collection all the time? The inefficiency of the whole thing had him fuming.

There was no greeting as he dropped back into his desk chair. In his absence Prad had joined them, the man's appearance normally a blessed sign that there were only a couple more hours left to Griffin's shift. Bitter and bored already, he began injecting the samples with the suite of serums that made up this week's study.

It was boring. It was tedious. At one point he caught himself dozing which was only a problem because Cadence had noticed as well. Everything was awful but absolutely normal.

Then the lights shifted to a sudden red.

"Shit!" Griffin swore, pushing back from his desk. "What is this, the fucking Harker foundation? I thought you guys had your shit under control."

"Apparently not..." Cadence conceded, looking about. "I've- I've never been here for one of these..." 

Giffin screwed his eyes shut for a moment, listening intently. "Is that a class 8?" The undulation of the alarm was slow while Griffin's pulse raced.

"Class 9," Prad muttered, wandering over. "That's a class 9 you guys. We- we need to secure the room. We should barricade the door-"

"Fuck that!" Griffin cried, standing up. While he'd sat through more than one lockdown caused by a werewolf on the loose this was different. The memory of a sharp toothed bloody grin turned his guts to water. "If shits going down, I'm  _ not _ getting locked up with you idiots- I'm getting the fuck out of here!" Cadence seemed to be in agreement with this, overlooking the name calling, and both ignored Prad's repeated pleas to follow procedure and help him move one of the desks into place. Griffin ducked out of the room, the woman close behind, as they left the solitary Prad straining ineffectively against the edge of a rolling cart. 

Sprinting down the halls was an experience. They passed two idiots going the opposite direction but Griffin was certain the nearest exit was just ahead. He'd passed it when getting coffee and had been tempted back then to just get the hell out. Kicking himself for not listening to his instincts, the lights flickered and he slowed to a jog as he began to pass the bank of windows belonging to Dr Pretorius's lab.

There was already blood on the window which should have lit a fire under anyone's ass but the sight beyond it was a catastrophe to behold and Griffin was a natural gawker. Also, the sight of a nude Dr Helsing covered in blood would have stopped anyone in their tracks. The woman was holding one of the lab technicians up by their throat, and though her mouth moved nothing was audible beyond the intermittent siren wail of the class 9 alarm. Equipment was overturned and the covered undead was wiggling about on the floor, the sheet still draped over it now soaked through in several spots with blood. 

"What? What? Why are we stopping.... oh no. No! Fuck this!" Cadence cried, having stumbled to a stop at his shoulder. Spinning about, she took off running the direction they'd just come from. 

Griffin gulped, fixed in place as he watched Dr Helsing open her mouth wide- so very, very wide and clamp it down upon her victim's shoulder. Shaking his head slowly, he eased back till he'd bumped against the opposite wall of the hallway. The urge to turn and run like Cadence had clawed at him but he he knew the fucking exit was just ahead. He just had to reach it. 

Forcing a foot forward, the vampire seemingly fully distracted by her meal, Griffin began to creep his way towards the exit. Just... several meters to go... maybe fifty of them... A sweat broke out on his brow and his hands trembled as he continued to slide along the wall. Now was not the time to recall in vivid detail how Dracula had once fed right in front of him. The sight of those teeth and all the blood had locked him in place that day and the very thought of it now made every step that much harder to take. 

Of course Zoe dropped her meal and of course she turned to look at him. It was strange, but Griffin was absolutely certain in that moment that he wasn't looking at Dr Helsing despite the obvious fact that he was. She cocked her head to the side, staring right back at him. "Oh fuck this!" Griffin cried and took off running down the hallway, back the way he came. 

There was the sound of shattering glass as he flung himself around a corner, slamming into the opposite wall and stumbling forward at a sprint. There was a lab door that he lunged for, but of course it was locked. Abandoning that hope, Griffin continued to flee down the hallway. The bank of observation windows he passed revealed a tiny cluster of staff, huddled at the back of the lab, far from the door.

Another hundred yards had him at another door and he made the mistake of glancing back as he fumbled his badge out. She was there, turning the corner and walking calmly towards him. "I'm sorry," he mumbled, badge dropping from nervous fingers as he backed away from her. "I- I should have never given him the video." Heart racing, Griffin continued to stumble backwards. "I never meant any of those things I said," he babbled, wondering how he could possibly appease the wrath of the vampire very clearly intent on killing him. "I've always admired your work, Dr Helsing" he lied and was rewarded by the woman pausing. Head tilting again inquisitively to the side, she narrowed her eyes at him.

It was thankfully at that moment that the security team arrived. There were only four of them and they immediately opened fire down the hallway, striking the vampire repeatedly and inspiring Griffin to drop to the floor. A bullet to the head- be it lead, silver, or wood- would be just as fatal as any vampire bite and Griffin realized then he desperately did not want to die. Eyes wide, hands thrown protectively over his precious head, he stared at Dr Helsing's bare feet directly in front of him. He watched as she turned to face the guards and only after she'd taken several very calm, very measured steps towards them did Griffin begin to frantically crawl away. 

The gunfire stopped about the time the screaming started and Griffin leapt to his feet, sprinting down the hallway once more. It was only after he reached the next door that he remembered his dropped badge. Half sobbing, half swearing, he began pounding on the window next to the door, begging to be let in. The tail end of a lab coat could be see poking out from under a desk at the back of the space but the bastard didn't move and Griffin abandoned that hope. The screaming had stopped.

Around the next bend of hallway he found no Cadence but the frantic collection of other fools who had abandoned the safety of their labs. The door, with its brightly illuminated EXIT sign above appeared to be locked given the angry pounding it was receiving from the individuals pressed up closest to it. "What the fuck?!" Griffin bellowed but it was lost in the wail of the siren and amongst similarly voiced cries from the others.

Glancing over his shoulder, certain he was about to be bitten, Griffin braced for Dr Helsing to come barreling down upon them at any moment. But that moment passed and then another and while the pounding at the door grew no less frantic, Griffin realized he'd lost Dr Helsing's attention- something he was for once grateful of.

"Out of the FUCKING way!" could be heard over the alarms and Griffin turned back to the crowd to watch Cadence wading through the churning pile of lab coats, arms dramatically outstretched as she carried a collection of vials. With the assistance of the two nearest the exit they uncapped and carefully poured the collection on the door- whatever substance it contained quickly eating through the thick metal but only in patches. There was more shouting and the crowd grew more frantic, surging forward despite the fact they were no closer to escape. 

"Well why don't you just hack it?!" Cadence was screaming at a man as she pushed her way through the surging bodies.

"It doesn't work that way!!" The scientist reached for the woman, begging for more vials and Griffin felt himself snap- furious at the man for being as pathetic and helpless as he himself felt. Stepping forward he pulled the fellow off of Cadence before making a fist and throwing a punch at the panicked individual. 

His hand hurt but his ego was mildly fortified by the experience. Cadence blinked in surprise and gave him a sharp nod of thanks. When he asked about the vials in a calmer, more dignified way, she just shook her head but then paused.

"I cleared out the supply down the hall, but there's more in Dr Jekyll's lab," she said, nodding back down the way they'd both come. "You feeling... heroic, Griffin?"

He swore, running a hand through his hair as he looked back at the frantic individuals pounding ineffectively at the locked exit. How many scientists does it take to open a door? It sounded like a bad joke and Griffin didn't know the punchline but he was not optimistic. "I don't know where she went- she was right behind me and then... fuck it" Shoving his hands in his pockets he nodded, hunching his shoulders. "But I lost my badge so... you gotta' get us through the door."

"Typical," she muttered and they set off at a brisk walk. Griffin didn't know if they should have been sprinting or creeping but he felt certain a gentle stroll down the hallway bathed in red lights was obscene.

It didn't last for long. The shards of glass in the hallway made it quite clear which lab had distracted her. When one knew to listen for it, the sound of a violent struggle was in fact detectable between the loud pulses of the siren. The lab tech that worked Dr Frankenstein's lab was half draped out of an observation bay window, the pool of blood that'd formed below him looking quite black with the lighting. Cadence seemed to opt for creeping in response to this and Griffin wished she'd gone for the sprint.

Dropping down to a crouch, Griffin followed her past the lab, both of them freezing in place at every crash or cry that came from the battling vampires within. They'd only made it half way by the time it came to a sudden conclusion. There'd been a cry halted so abruptly it really inspired one to contemplate what might have happened. There was an urge to raise his head and peek. He wanted to know. Whichever vampire had won, it didn't matter- he was still locked in a facility with it till presumably the higher grade security could arrive on site. But he wanted to know. He had to know. 

The curiosity bit into him sharper than the shattered safety glass he crawled over. There was no doubt whoever emerged from that lab was going to head straight to the smorgasbord at the exit. If they just got  _ away _ from everyone, they might be able to last until backup showed up. Cadence had higher clearance then him so she might actually be able to open doors that remained locked. But he had to know. 

Pausing at the last window he inched up carefully. Just a peek. Of course it was Dr Helsing. What she'd done to the other Bride of Dracula kept on site was a mystery, the vampire was not visible from where Griffin crouched. What he did see, however, was an unhappy Ernest Frankenstein. The man was undoing his collar and shaking his head. He was saying something, displaying an inadequate fear of what stood before him.

Griffin didn't wait around to see how that turned out, he dropped back down and crawled the last little way before climbing to his feet and hurrying to catch up with Cadence. "How the fuck is Ernest brave?" Griffin muttered out loud, brow furrowing.

"Fucking hell," Cadence hissed to him as they slipped into the lab around the next bend and she headed to a cabinet. "Now is not the time to be such a fucking-"

"Drugs," he said suddenly. He looked up and wagged a finger at her, growing excited. "Drugs."

"Now is not the time. Dammit it's locked. Give me a second." She pulled something from her pocket and set about attacking the cabinet’s handle.

"She won't bite him. I mean, she might kill him, but she wouldn't bite him." Cadence didn't seem to care about this important distinction. She'd never seen a vampire feed up close and personal the old fashioned way. She didn't understand. Griffin swallowed thickly and looked about the lab, eyes sliding over empty lab benches. Jekyll's labs were only staffed by a daytime crew and there were no survivors to contend with here.

"We should hunker down here," he said, scanning the massive equipment and windows, the rotting undead that stood just on the other side of the window looking at him-

"OH FUCK!" Griffin cried, falling back a step as Cadence popped the lock to the cabinet and the undead creature raised a finger to point at them. She began shoving vials in her pockets, somehow ignoring the rotting stare. Griffin however was transfixed. He hadn't had much exposure to the prolonged undead. The gaping holes of empty eye sockets was a more striking stare than one might have expected. There was still the remnants of a beard hanging off the shreds of its jaw, which moved though Griffin couldn't hear what it said. He could guess it well enough.

"FUCK FUCK FUCK!" he cried, stumbling over to the woman and pushing her out of the way to stare into the closet. "Drugs! Something! Anything- I don't want her biting me!" There was a struggle where they wasted precious time, Griffin searching for something that felt like a compromise between death and... worse death? His mind whirled as Cadence cursed him for a coward and tried to reach past him to collect her own ammunition against what was to come.

He looked back over his shoulder just in time to see her arrive. She said something to the undead and then turned to look at him, gaze immediately locking with his and whatever vial he held at that moment slipped from his fingers and crashed on the floor. Cadence swore and leapt back.

"Jesus, man! Careful!" Following his gaze she watched as Dr Helsing waved and then began the process of breaking through the lab window. "Ok, so, I'm going to throw these here," she said, calmly pulling a handful from her lab coat, "and hope for the best." Griffin turned back to the cabinet, digging further back, looking for more options. "There's a good chance the vapors of this shit mixing alone will kill us." She paused, tipping her head to the side as Dr Helsing broke through. "I hope it doesn't become the start of a major biohazard..."

Griffin selected a blue capped vial at random, spinning around in time to watch Cadence indeed fling a handful of miscellaneous items at the vampire who easily dodged out of the way. Dr Helsing caught the woman's other arm before she could release her next volley. Griffin popped the cap and downed whatever it was he held, squeezing his eyes shut and turning away rather than watch Cadence be eaten.

"Do you know who I am?" the vampire asked in a strange accent. Shocked, Griffin looked back and stared wide eyed as Cadence shook her head. Unfortunately he did not turn away before the vampire let out an unhappy sigh and then bit deeply into the woman's neck. Again, Griffin could not look away as the vampire fed, briefly, before him though the gore rose in his throat.

When she dropped Cadence, she looked sharply up and smiled at him. "Ah, but you do!" she said in a cheerful, foreign voice.

"D-Dr Helsing. Dr Zoe Helsing." Her smile fell at that and his brain kicked in, catching up to the obvious. "Agatha Helsing. You're Agatha Helsing." Her smile returned at this.

"Sister Agatha van Helsing," she corrected, approaching him. "Very good. Now. Can you tell me where Dracula is?"

"Ah- he-" Griffin stuttered, looking around rapidly as his stomach began to churn, whatever he'd consumed starting whatever it was going to do.

"Now, now, don't try to be brave," she cautioned him. "You will gain nothing in helping hide him from me."

Wincing, pressing a hand to his abdomen, Griffin squinted at her. "Why would I do that?"

"The only other person here who appears to know who I am seemed willing to die rather than help me," she said, frowning as she looked him up and down. "Don't suppose that's the case with you, hmmm?"

Griffin opened his mouth but all that came out was a gasp of pain as he doubled over. The vampire frowned at him. "Well this is unfortunate." A cry escaped him as he buckled and fell to his knees. "Are you dying? Tell me where Dracula is!" She leaned in and then shied away with a scowl. "Ugh, you smell disgusting."

There was agony, yes, but what really left Griffin speechless was the profound sense of  _ Strange _ that swept over him as... something happened. He clawed at his chest, his abdomen unnaturally warm. The vampire was talking, but he ignored her as he stared at himself in horror.

"Sokolovo, I want you to go and- oh my, that is interesting." Griffin let out a panicked cry at the feeling of her cold hands upon his stomach. Though neither could see his torso, only the back of his shirt behind it, it was clearly there. She left a trail in the air as she ran a bloody hand over his chest before rapping her knuckles on it twice as if to confirm it still existed. "Very interesting. But not the most pressing matter on hand." She turned away from him and Griffin collapsed onto the floor, sobbing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> failed to list Griffin on the character summary list from the previous story, but you get the idea


	7. Hands on Hips

The whole top three floors of the building were ablaze by the time the car arrived. The vehicle was stopped a block away as the police and fire department were in the process of cordoning off the area surrounding the research facility. Agatha pressed her lips into a thin line as she peered up at flames licking out of the shattered windows. Dracula had preceded them no doubt. She opened her mouth and turned to share this observation with Zoe but the woman had already thrown open the door and was running down the street.

Agatha sighed heavily, watching the flustered driver fumble with his phone for a moment before she found herself sitting at her writing desk. Zoe must be quite frantic if she had been banished here. Pushing to her feet, she paced back and forth in the small confines of her convent laboratory. It wasn't long before she turned, having again reached one end of the room, and found her lab opening up a modern day street and the small crowd milling about between parked vans. Most everyone was well armed and armored, dressed in the distinctive black of those unassociated with civil institutions. Zoe had already begun interrogating one of them, ignoring the alarmed reaction this seemed to be inspiring in the group. 

"Survivors!" she was in the process of demanding, gripping a man and giving him a shake. "Were there any survivors?" When it became obvious she'd get nothing from him, Zoe scanned the crowd. "Does anyone know what happened?" Agatha approached a large brutish looking fellow and looked him up and down, wondering if he or anyone else present were werewolves.

"Ma'am, I need to-" one of them started before she snarled, teeth notably altered. They drew back as Zoe dug her badge out and flung it at them. This earned her a hasty explanation that they'd just arrived in response to a class 9 security breach. Zoe swore at this and snatched her badge back.

"Has anyone heard from Dr Pretorius?" she shouted, spinning around and glaring at the crowd now encircling her. "Was Count Dracula involved?"

"You know he did this," Agatha sighed, shaking her head as she approached. "Perhaps he is still nearby? If only we'd gotten here in time-"

The venom with which Zoe turned to her and positively hissed had Agatha drawing back in alarm. The vampire whipped back around to snarl, "Dr Pretorius? Has anyone gotten a hold of him? He often works nights-" It took some negotiating and perhaps some further intimidation- the fact she was a vampire seemed known to the unmarked security team but they appeared only uneasy with this fact rather than appropriately frightened. Agatha paid them little mind choosing to instead watch the building as it continued to burn- the blaze had only increased in intensity since they arrived. They really had just missed him it seemed.

"Zoe, I-" Agatha turned and found the woman gone once again only an instant before she was returned to her laboratory. She clenched her fists and held her breath for a moment before letting it out carefully. If Zoe was determined to ignore her, there was little she could do. Not that there was much she could do, even if Zoe listened to her.

There'd been little discussion on the drive over, Agatha's tentative musings of what they might find in Dr Pretorius's labs met with silence and the occasional facial expression. Zoe always seemed embarrassed to talk to her when in the company of others, like the driver, but Agatha hardly considered this the time to be concerned with such minor vanities.

They were going to find her. The feeling sent a shiver up her spine and Agatha rubbed at her arms through the heavy fabric of her habit. Perhaps not, perhaps they were over reacting, but Dracula's suspicious absence had convinced her that something was up. She wondered- and had repeatedly asked Zoe during the ride- if Septimus had worked with Dracula behind the doctor's back? While the doctor refused to speculate, she at least had been in full agreement that they investigate it immediately- and that had been before they’d known the Count had set fire to the lab.

Again her thoughts whirled and she once more circled back to the question of what it would be like to gaze down upon her own bones? Her own corpse? She'd studied Zoe enough, surely it would be similar. What she'd do when they'd gotten her body back, Agatha had no idea. What she did know, however, was that she did _not_ want Dracula getting his hands on her. That he'd want to, that he was already one step ahead of them was not in doubt. In Agatha's mind at least. Zoe had not agreed with her yet on these hypotheticals she'd proposed during the drive over, choosing instead to stare silently out the window.

It was the smell of smoke that signaled Zoe had settled somewhere long enough for her to rejoin the doctor. Spinning around, Agatha found the vampire digging through a pile of corpses in the middle of a smokey hallway bathed in ominous red light. Standing up, ankle deep in lab coats, Zoe glanced at the nun with an expression so panicked it softened her irritation with the woman. 

"He's not here. But his lab is a blood bath." For a moment Agatha was stunned at the thought of Dracula having a secret secondary lab on the premise before she realized Zoe was referring to her uncle. Though if her suspicions were correct... 

The cool of her dungeon laboratory receded and suddenly Agatha found herself standing in the middle of a burning building. She spun about to face the raging inferno as the doctor abandoned the dead to head down the opposite hallway. The smoke was everywhere and when Agatha drew a breath to call out she immediately started coughing. Covering her mouth and nose, eyes watering, Agatha stumbled away from the heat of nearby flames. Her heels caught on a sprawled leg, real to her but as immovable as granite, and she tumbled back landing hard atop the pile of dead scientists.

Agatha didn't swear but she gasped in pain and rolled to the side, favoring her wrist. Blinking away the tears, able to draw a breath now that she was closer to the floor, Agatha studied the dead face fixed in horror directly in front of her. Raising a hand, she touched their jaw but of course was unable to tip the head to the side. Scrubbing at her face, trying to clear her vision, she peered at the unmarred neck half obscured by a cascade of hair and then another uninjured throat just to her left. There was only time to twist and check two more of the corpses below her before she was _pulled_ to Zoe.

Still on the floor, now a thankfully smooth surface below her hands and knees, Agatha found herself between the hunched over form of Zoe and a headless corpse. The doctor's back was to her and Agatha struggled to push herself to her feet, wrist still throbbing in pain. Not far to the left was the missing head and Agatha crouched down to inspect it.

"Come on come on come on," Zoe muttered, still turned away, and Agatha huffed.

"Please, don't let _my_ comfort slow you down," she retorted. "I may not be real but this smoke disagrees with my lungs as much as-"

"Damnit!" the vampire swore with such venom that Agatha stopped, abandoning the decapitated Harmony to look over the woman's shoulder. Bloody hands were frantically attempting to return spilled intestines back into the gutted, slumped form of Ernest Frankenstein. While disturbing, the sight wasn't exactly shocking- Sister Agatha was well familiar with the human form and had assisted before in both field triage and post mortem dissections. The sight of Ernest weakly waving a hand at the doctor, head lolled to the side but still apparently clinging to life, was a surprise however.

"Alive? Undead?" Agatha asked just to be certain but of course Zoe ignored her. The unintelligible groan that escaped the man as the doctor piled the remainder of exposed organ onto his lap didn't exactly clarify the situation. Again Agatha noted the lack of damage to the throat though the cruel mutilation of the man was at least an indicator Dracula had been here. One does not slip and accidentally slice open one's stomach so neatly.

When Zoe leaned down to scoop the man up, held to her chest with one arm under his shoulders and the other under his knees, Agatha couldn't help but wince at the way the gut wound shifted and threatened to further spill out all that should be kept inside. The doctor paid no mind to the mutilated vampire corpse of her fellow Bride as she stepped over it and left the safety of the lab they were in. Stumbling after her, Agatha again struggled in the burning hallway as Zoe moved with speed, hunching to protect her burden. The heat from the flames again was intense and it seemed her flesh would blacken at any moment from it or the sea of smoke that surrounded her. The sight of the vampire quickly disappeared and Agatha came to a stumbling stop once more, dropping to her knees, head bowed. The pain of her wrist throbbed in time with her racing heart, sweat trickling down the back of her neck under a coif that seemingly protected her from bursting into flames.

She'd just drawn another painful breath, eyes squeezed shut, when suddenly it was all gone. The heat, the near deafening roar of the fire and wailing alarm that she hadn't even realized she'd been hearing, the pain in her wrist. Blinking, she lifted her head to examine the cool dungeon lab with a still racing heart. All that she retained from the experience was an elevated heart rate and the tears running down her face. Carefully standing up, drying her face on the sleeve of her habit, she tried to collect her thoughts.

Clearly Dracula had attacked the facility and set it ablaze to cover his tracks. That he'd tortured Ernest was obvious and Agatha hardly felt the need to ponder why. The vampire had snapped, all bets were off now no doubt. She wondered how Zoe would take the breaking of his word. The woman would be crushed no doubt but perhaps now amenable to some of the more radical suggestions of how to handle the Count. Agatha rubbed at her wrist, disturbed with the phantom memory of intense pain just a moment ago now completely vanished. She'd just decided to settle at her desk and jot down her thoughts when she heard a sharp cry from behind her.

Turning she found Zoe in the process of setting a mauled Ernest down, resting the man against a car. Looking around, Agatha realized they were directly outside the building, still a ways away from the black clad individuals she'd initially conferred with.

"Zoe, there's no helping him," Agatha explained, pained that the woman seemed so distraught as to think she could save Ernest in place of her missing uncle. "That sort of wound-"

"I know," the doctor snapped, standing up and stepping away from the man. The look she gave Agatha was wild and desperate. Shaking her bloody hands, she paced in a circle, glancing back twice at the man. 

A realization dawned on Agatha and she hurriedly said, "Zoe, calm down. You need to leave him. Just back away."

"I need to know!" Zoe said, crouching down again before the somehow still breathing Ernest. 

"You mustn't bite him!" Agatha cried, wringing her hands. "The fabric! Remember, it is in your pocket!" Zoe violently shook her head and leaned forward over the man who simply blinked, a burble of frothy blood escaping his lips in place of any words as he exhaled. "You need not fall prey to temptation!"

"I need to know! I can do this!" the vampire repeated before grasping Ernest's face between her hands. "What happened? What happened? What happened?" she whispered frantically at him.

Mind racing, Agatha clasped her rosary and stepped forward. "Wait! You cannot drink from him! He's ill!" She was not sure what exactly plagued the man but she'd spent enough time listening to the two talk around it that Agatha had no doubt a bite of him would go poorly. Her fear of Zoe falling prey to base, uncontrollable wants twisted into a worry about the woman's poor decision making skills.

Eyes stained a deep red, Zoe glanced back over her shoulder and offered a helpless shrug. "It didn't kill Dracula," she said before turning back to her victim. 

"Yes, but he is over five hundred years old!" the nun cried out but it was already too late. Agatha stood there helpless as she watched Zoe bury her face in Ernest's neck. "Just because it didn't kill him doesn't mean this won't kill... us," she whispered in horror and some small part fear. She'd imagined dying- again, more permanently- at the hands of Dracula but being snuffed out by Zoe's foolishness didn't feel nearly as alluring.

There was a single, terrible snarl that escaped the doctor, the gentle bobbing motion as she crouched over the man suggesting she'd gotten at least one mouthful down, before Zoe tore herself away with a cry. The wound on Ernest's neck spurted but quickly tapered off though Agatha paid the dying or dead man no mind. Hovering over the groaning vampire, Agatha wrung her hands. "Foolish girl! You can you even find-"

"You," Zoe gasped, dropping to her knees as she weakly raised a hand. "It... was you..." These words were followed by a cascade of dark blood erupting from between her lips. The accusing finger pointed at Agatha trembled and then Zoe was down on all fours, heaving up more blood than she could have possibly consumed in such a brief feeding.

"Zoe!" Agatha cried, dropping down next to the woman. "What do you mean?" she asked despite understanding perfectly well what had been said. Her thoughts were a whirlwind as she crouched ineffectively beside Zoe as the woman tipped over, hardly making enough noise to draw attention from any fellow bystanders. "Zoe," she whispered, frightened in that moment for both of them. "Zoe, please-" 

The dungeon laboratory was cold and silent. Agatha drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms about them. She wouldn't cry. She hadn't cried that night at the convent and she wouldn't cry now. Thoughts of how to thwart and overcome Count Dracula had so filled her mind that dark night she’d not had time to be scared but there was a fear in her heart now. Faced not with mystery but rather dread certainty she found she was afraid not for herself- she was afraid of herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All my love to my lone two readers- Festering_Queen & Arwen17.... I fear ever chapter will bore you and bace for your inevitable wandering off, but do know in the mean time your comments mean so much to me ;_;


	8. Knees In Tight

"Sir. Sir!" The guard stood up, hand moving to rest on their weapon as they glared at Frank from the other side of the glass. "I'm not going to tell you again- you have to leave. This is a private facility."

"Yes, yes,  _ excuse me _ ," Frank said, fighting back a giggle. "I'm afraid you don't seem to know who I am." The guard watched him closely and the next giggle that bubbled up within Frank briefly escaped before he covered it by clearing his throat. Taking his glasses off, he polished them on his shirt sleeve as he announced with great relish. "I'm Dracula's  _ lawyer. _ " 

It never got old, announcing that. Each time he got to proclaim it, it felt like honey on his tongue. Sometimes in the early morning hours, after he'd been ejected from Dracula's residence, he'd go home and stand before his mirror, repeating the phrase. 'I am Dracula's lawyer' he'd boast to himself for lack of anyone one else to share this fact with. It was thrilling to be able to claim to be representing  _ anyone _ , let alone  _ the _ Count Dracula. 

For the majority of his time with Hawkins and Wentworth he'd only managed the old accounts. The stagnant ones that had paid the premiums to avoid being shut down due to inactivity. Legacy trusts, self perpetuating and existing far longer than any single mortal client- but entities in their own right. He admired them, certainly, but Frank had always dreamed of working the big accounts, of boldy defending clients against the tyranny of the law. But he'd never been good with people and so he'd been stuck with the dusty ones. When he'd gotten that call from Dracula....  _ The call. _ Unaware of the compulsion, Frank muttered to himself, "Dracula is my master" as he raised his head and looked about the entry way.

"Excuse me?" the guard asked, clearly unnerved by the statement.

"Dracula is my master," Frank repeated, enunciating more clearly. "And I am his lawyer. I was told you were expecting me?"

The guard pulled a face but did at least cautiously glance down at a clipboard before them. "Name?" they asked, flipping through several pages. 

"MMMmmmm, Renfield," he muttered, leaning in and attempting to read any of the other names on the list. "Frank Renfield." His interest proved to be too obvious and the guard made a point of obscuring the pages, frowning as they continued to glance between him and the documents.

As expected, he was on the list of approved visitors though no one was on hand to greet him and Dracula could not be reached. Frank was a touch warmed to know his Master appeared to ignore everyone, not just him. While he was used to having to leave multiple voicemails, these people did not seem to be as adaptable to negligence. Frank sniffed in disdain before suggesting they simply take him to the meeting room. He could wait. Frank was good with waiting.

Eventually a lowly intern was rustled up to take him somewhere and keep watch over him. Frank bobbed his head in thanks at the guard, eyes narrowing even as he tried his best to smile pleasantly, briefcase held in a white knuckled grip. He didn't like people who were suspicious of him but he tried his best not to let personal opinions color business. And this most certainly was business. 

As the nervous looking young woman led him down the hall, Frank peered into the lab windows they passed. To think the last time he'd been here they'd led him to a cage and now his client occupied the head office! Frank chuckled to himself at this immense irony but quickly tried to stifle it at the look the intern gave him. Clearing his throat, he looked away from her and returned to scanning the labs- freezing when he his gaze locked with a familiar one. His guide actually took several steps further before she'd noticed he'd stopped, turning around to look back at him as the door opened.

"Frank, what are you doing here?" Zoe asked, sticking her head out into the hallway. Dr Helsing was never a beauty- Frank often wondered what his Dark Lord saw in the woman- and today she looked even worse than normal as she glared at him from her natural habitat. "Sam, where are you taking him?" The young woman started to answer but Frank stepped in, excited to share the good news.

"But didn't he tell you, Doctor?" he asked, blinking rapidly, "Ardath Bey is visiting today. Count Dracula said he wanted me here as his legal representative." There was a delayed realization that he perhaps should not preen quite so obviously at this fact, and Frank awkwardly lowered his hand. While Dr Helsing _ always _ seemed to glare, the expression she wore just then was  _ particularly _ fierce and Frank had to rely on his fear locking him in place against the rising, desperate urge to run.

" _ He what? _ " the woman asked sharply, emerging from the lab and managing to loom over him despite the hard-to-remember fact that he was taller than her.

"He- He- he and I spoke this afternoon," Frank stuttered, clutching his briefcase to his chest. "While you were no doubt a-  _ asleep _ . Elsewhere." Leaning in to whisper, growing bold with the memory, he added, "Master was  _ quite _ displeased to hear you'd not returned home." Zoe didn't move in reaction to this news but the intern to his left coughed and turned away. "But surely he left a voicemail...?"

"I am temporarily without a phone," Zoe said, looking away to glare at a wall as she was want to do. "Don't. I don't want to hear about it." Speaking over his shoulder Dr Helsing continued in a kinder tone, "Sam, I've got him. Go ahead and... run along." She opened the door to her lab wide and gestured for Frank to enter.

There was a woman seated at a lab bench, red eyed and frantically scrubbing at her cheeks as he wandered in. He remembered her from his first visit and bobbed his head as he smiled. The smile she offered in return was rather tight and watery. It diminished as Dr Helsing joined them.

"Frank, you remember Bloxham. Bloxham, you remember Frank." Her tone was crisp and she folded her arms across her chest. 

"Dracula's lawyer," the woman recalled and Frank briefly, again, indulged in the urge to preen at that. 

"You saw Dracula this afternoon?" The look Zoe gave him wasn't friendly but then again it never was- she at least didn't look like she was going to bite him. He'd heard quite a bit from Dracula about how none of Zoe's victims had turned and Frank rather hoped for a long afterlife serving his Dark Lord. He was less afraid of losing his  _ life _ in her presence than his  _ afterlife _ due to her ineffectualness. 

"Ah, no- we spoke over the phone. Briefly," he quickly confessed, realizing the woman was going to interrogate him for every detail of the call.

"Don't suppose he told you where he was?" Bloxham asked in a hopeful tone.

"It sounded like the freeway," Frank recalled, "so the question should  _ actually _ be where he 'will be'. Or 'is now'," he amended, realizing it'd been several hours since they'd spoken. Zoe seemed skeptical when he confessed to not knowing the answer to these and other questions. He'd heard about the fire, but only from the radio- Dracula had not mentioned or asked about it. He was familiar with the CIN laboratories- Dracula had had him investigate them as part of general due diligence prior to investing but Frank hadn't heard it mentioned recently. He wrung his hands and tried to muster the nerve to deny her information should she ask him something of his Dark Lord that he actually knew. Sadly, the opportunity failed to present itself. 

Bloxham, who seemed to be quickly recovering from whatever fit she'd suffered prior to his arrival, had at one point begun to move away but was pinned in place by a pointed finger from Dr Helsing and a sharply worded "Don't" which froze the woman. Frank could relate.

At one point Bloxham's phone rang and the woman did step away then to answer it only to return a second later handing the phone to Dr Helsing. The vampire accepted it, moving to the far end of the lab as she began to speak most urgently to the caller. Frank strained just hard enough to be certain it wasn't his Master's voice on the other side of the line before settling down again at the bench Dr Helsing had directed him to wait at. 

He exchanged a polite glance with Bloxhamn once, then twice- nodding to the woman as she clearly struggled to find something to say. Renfield was familiar with this- many folks found talking with lawyers to be rather intimidating. "Lovely weather we've been having," he observed in an attempt to put her at ease. The woman just hummed and was even more obvious than Frank in her attempts to eavesdrop on the conversation happening several feet away. "Who's she talking to?" he eventually asked, knowing his Master appreciated when he collected such details about Dr Helsing's actions in his absence.

"Her uncle," the woman muttered.

"Dr Petreious?" he asked and she just nodded her head. "The one who's lab burned down?" Again another bob of the head, Bloxham's gaze fixed on her colleague's pacing form. Frank drummed his fingers on his briefcase. 

"His lost research?! What about his lost  _ brother _ ." Dr Helsing really made no effort to keep her voice down as she strode back to the lab bench she'd been at and pulled out a folder. "Oh for goodness sakes, it was a satellite lab! Surely he kept backups? ... Well, I'm not very sympathetic to that ... Just- please- let him know we have his dead brother on premise." Glancing over her shoulder, the doctor and Bloxham exchanged a look. "He'll clear the required wait period tomorrow so he needs to let us know what he'd like us to do with the remains. No.  _ No. _ This isn't a pity request- it's what the forms say," she muttered, flipping the folder open and fidgeting with a page. "'Notify Victor'... Jesus, even in death he's still beholden to the man." There was a soft sniffling sound from Bloxham and Dr Helsing turned away, hastily ending the call. "Ok, well, I don't care. See you soon." 

Frank watched Bloxham closely as the woman's lower lip trembled and he feared she'd begin crying at any moment. When Zoe turned back around and held out the phone with a mumbled 'thanks' the woman indeed broke down with a sort of blubbering incoherent apology and Frank deeply regretted not arguing more firmly for the right to wait in the meeting room alone. Bloxham was a messy crier, it was most unpleasant. He contemplated sliding off to a different bench further away but Dr Helsing's glare held him in place. 

"Now now," Dr Helsing coached her colleague, trying to calm the woman with an awkward pat to the back. "Ernest is dead, there's nothing we can do about it now. We need to focus on the problem at hand- it's what he would have wanted us to do." 

"Secure the assets," the woman snuffled, nodding her head. "We need to find Count Dracula."

"What?" Dr Helsing pulled back, "No, that's- Dracula is no longer an  _ asset _ of the Foundation. He may be the current head of it but-"

"But we need to find him!" Frank nodded along to Bloxham's insistence, in perfect agreement. While he was certain his Dark Lord would reveal himself to Frank when the time was right, Renfield also understood the value in dedicated devotion. One should always try to find one's Master if one were to happen to misplace them. 

"No. No no no no," Dr Helsing stepped back, raising her hands. "No," she continued to insist, even though Bloxham and Frank had not voiced a single word at this. "Obviously not.  _ No. _ What we  _ need _ to do is handle this latest vampire." She glared about the room, addressing more than just the two of them. "We need to find and contain Sister Agatha van Helsing." 

Frank raised a finger and followed it with a question. "Isn't that what Mr Bey's services are being requested for?" He made a point of checking the watch on his wrist, only belatedly remembering it was broken and hoping neither woman noticed. He was supposed to get that fixed though time continued to simply... escape him. "I believe he should be arriving soon. We can clear up the problem of Ms van Helsing and then begin-"

"Yes but no," Dr Helsing said most unhelpfully. "Different Agatha," she added before turning to Bloxham and inquiring about some records. The laughter that bubbled up in Frank was too sudden and intense to contain. "Sister Agatha van Helsing?" he repeated in shock. "Is Master's latest vampire? But surely not. She's been dead...." The irritated look on Dr Helsing's face and the fearful one on Bloxham's made it clear enough. "Oh no. Oh my, no, that's quite unfortunate." Frank brought a hand to his mouth to chew his nails. He had heard quite a bit about Sister Agatha van Helsing from his Dark Lord, especially in the early days when his Master had just returned.

"Is- is she a  _ Bride _ of Master's?" he inquired, interrupting Bloxham mid-reply. There were only ever three Brides he well knew and while Frank debated his ability to one day upspur Zoe, he was certain Agatha would always be guaranteed a place by his Dark Lord's side.

"We've been unable to establish that," Dr Helsing snapped. "But feel free to inquire with Count Dracula about it as soon as you get a hold of him." Her head jerked to the side and she threw up her hands. "I don't know!  _ Kill her _ maybe?" Bloxham leaned away from the furious vampire who exchanged several more sharp remarks with the empty space beside her while Frank easily overlooked this. He'd been serving Dr Helsing for months now, on his Master's command, and was well used to such outbursts.

A knock on the door raised Frank's hopes but the towering brute on the other side was clearly not Mr Bey. Renfield was then surprised to be hustled out of the lab after a moment of debate on Dr Helsing's part. The woman had pursed her lips and studied him before declaring that he was to 'come with them' so she could 'keep an eye on him'. The large fellow, who she'd introduce hastily as Talbot, was quick to turn a critical eye on him at that and Frank fought back a nervous giggle of unease.

They quickly made their way through the Foundation's twisting corridors, Dr Helsing and Talbot already in whispered discussion while Bloxham and Frank trailed behind. When she spoke to him, he gave a little start of surprise- conversations tended to flow around him rather than actually involve him. "What  _ exactly _ are you meeting with Bey about?" Bloxham asked in her own whispered voice and Frank wondered if there was a rule about being quiet while talking in the hallways here.

"Oh, ah- I couldn't really say," Renfield replied, smiling widely, "client-lawyer confidentiality and all that." The woman frowned but nodded and he asked in return, "Where are we going?"

There was no time for her to answer as they arrived just then at a large conference room. On a giant wall mounted screen video of a burning building played and around the table that dominated the room sat a number of individuals behind laptops. Frank pulled up short, clutching his briefcase to his chest while the doctor and Talbot immediately approached a collection of maps pinned to the far wall. The room buzzed with a type of energy Renfield was only vaguely familiar with. Most of his client calls were intimate affairs, aged relatives checking on a family trust or meeting with local officials to clarify some pesky loophole in documented law. This room resembled the bustling offices of his old firm's upper floors, energized and on the cusp of dramatic action. Frank swallowed. 

"Hazard response," Bloxham explained at his side before carefully guiding the man to a seat in the corner. "Just... wait here a bit and I'm sure-"

"Bloxham," Dr Helsing called sharply and the woman hurried to the vampire's side to join in studying the maps there. Frank simply nodded his head and settled down to wait, licking his lips and watching everything with a sort of hunger. This was most certainly what he imagined being Count Dracula's lawyer would be like. Involved in things. In the room where important decisions were being made. He felt a keen pang of regret that his Master was not present, presiding over it all just then.

In efforts to blend in and look as busy as everyone else, Renfield had pulled out a pad of paper and begun to write on it. By the time the intern reappeared, announcing there was a Mr Bey waiting to see Dracula, he'd managed to cover two sheets with scribbled devotions to his Master. He hastily shuffled it back into his briefcase before climbing to his feet, happy for his moment at last.

"Oh, I am quite able to-" Frank began to explain as Dr Helsing excused herself and made to follow them out of the room.

"Nonsense, Frank," she interrupted, tucking her hands in pockets and looking down her nose at him. "I don't know what Dracula's playing at but I'll not let this chance escape me- I will be right back!" she hastily said to one of the individuals at the table who looked up and called out to her just then. "I need to attend to a... personal matter," she muttered, glaring at Frank for some reason and then nodding for the intern to lead the way.

That Dr Helsing was the first one through the door to the next conference room they were led to greatly displeased Frank. He covered it by smiling brightly at the gentleman seated within and immediately held out his hand in greeting. 

"Frank Renfield," he announced, "Dracula's lawyer."

Adreth Bey did not react in any way to this. The man's lips were pressed into a thin line but it was hard to tell if he was frowning or that was simply how his withered features normally rested. Piercing eyes drilled into Frank from a hallowed and gaunt face, the man's sunken cheeks and sharp cheekbones more pronounced than even Dr Helsing's. A hand rested on the table and the only motion from the man was a steadily tapped finger and a gaze that jumped from Frank to Zoe.

"Where is Count Dracula?" The voice was deep and thickly accented. Frank felt a shiver run up his spine, sensitive to the power there that echoed his Master's. Lowering his outstretched, ignored hand, Frank gulped and backed up several paces, gripping his briefcase tightly.

"Not here," Dr Helsing said, "but I'm the one who-"

"Why am I here if he is not?" the fellow announced, leaning back in his chair. "Count Dracula. He disrespects me," he said, crossing his arms. 

"I'm happy the board is staffed by members who are capable of gasping the obvious," Dr Helsing muttered under her breath, raising a hand to rub her forehead as Frank laughed nervously. 

"As Dracula's lawyer-" he tried to explain but the doctor wouldn't let him finish.

"Your arrival is somewhat unexpected, Mr Bey, though appreciated." She turned and glared off to the left for a brief moment before looking back to the gentleman. "As you may have heard, we're having a bit of an  _ incident _ at the moment, which Count Dracula is... tending to. I'll confess it's a bit of a surprise, but you're here now. I'm the one who needs help, not him, so we need not wait." 

"Ah," the man sighed and steepled his fingers. "Yes, the  _ incident _ . Unfortunate, indeed." There was a twitch of a smile there that Frank mirrored out of habit. "But he is the one who can help me, not you, so we need not proceed." Standing up, the man collected a walking stick that leaned against the table and the doctor began to protest. Lifting his chin, Bey glared down at her from an impressive height. "I may be as immortal as you now are, Dr Helsing, but I still do not appreciate my  _ time _ being wasted." 

"Please!" the doctor pleaded, stepping forward and raising a placating hand. "Can you help me- I am haunted by this- this-" Bey waved dismissively at her and scowled with such force that she fell silent. 

"I did not come here to hear the wailings of Count Dracula's pets."

"I am  _ not _ a pet!" Dr Helsing cried in her defense while Frank simply nodded his head in understanding. 

"Dracula talks of his Brides but he might as well call them such," the man sneered as he carefully made his way to the door, the tap of his walking stick ringing out quite loudly on the concrete floor. "I know who and what you are, Dr Helsing." Circling the table, he stood before the woman and then turned to Frank. "Tell the Count that I expect to be in Morocco for the rest of the year. If he wants to resume these discussions he can meet me  _ there _ ."

Frank bobbed his head, happy at least to have something to report back to his Dark Lord. That he'd been mistaken for a Bride of Dracula left him a little flustered and aglow with pride. Dr Helsing let out an angry huff and followed the man to the door.

"I'm sorry the Count is not here, you arrived so suddenly.... Could you at least let me know what it is you want from him?" The vampire bit her lip and looked somewhere between angry and sad, no doubt the closest she could approximate to beseeching. Frank frowned, unimpressed with the doctor's efforts and then mortified as she continued. "We need help.  _ I _ need help. And if you want Dracula to do anything for you, I'm pretty sure  _ I'm _ the only one capable of convincing him to do it. He doesn't respond well to threats you know." 

"The pawn thinks too highly of herself," Bey declared before letting himself out of the room. Frank gave Dr Helsing a long and disapproving look before the two followed the man into the hallway.

"I am authorized to make executive decisions regarding the Counts assets," Frank offered, scurrying alongside Bey as he made his way towards the building's exit. "Perhaps there's something you're looking for...?" he wheedled, thinking to impress his Master by soothing over the mess Dr Helsing had made. The woman remained thankfully silent as she followed them but Bey appeared not to hear him at all.

They'd not quite reached the lobby when a small group rounded the corner traveling the opposite direction and met them in the middle of the hall- it was Bloxham and Talbot trailing after Dr Petreious. The two older gentlemen sized each other up in silence before nodding to the other. 'Petreious.' 'Bey.' was the extent of their greetings. There was a long awkward pause in which the conjoined groups shuffled about a bit and then Bey continued on his way down the corridor. Dr Helsing looked prepared to follow but Dr Petreious nodded his head in the direction he'd be going. 

"Dr Helsing?" She glanced after the retreating Bey and Frank shifted nervously from foot to foot. In theory he'd only been directed to come on site for the meeting, but now that he was there he was reluctant to leave. Thankfully Dr Helsing's attention was captured by her uncle and the group of them, Frank trailing behind, shuffled back to the crowded conference room. Bloxham gave him a funny look as he slipped through the doorway and took his seat in the corner once more.

"I'm sorry, my dear," Dr Petreious was saying as Frank pulled out his notepad again. "I'd turned off my phone- two drunk calls from Victor and the usual cryptic nonsense from Bey put me over the limit."

"Bey called you?" Turning away from the map she'd wandered over to, Dr Helsing planted her fists on hips. 

"Said he had a bad feeling," the older doctor muttered, turning to examine the burning wreckage of his office on the mounted screen. It looked to be a recording of a news clip from the previous morning playing on loop. "I'm sure he'll try to take credit for sensing this- but I suspect I wasn't the only one getting drunk dialed by Victor. Would give anyone a 'bad feeling'..."

"You didn't have your own  _ bad feeling _ about your research?" she practically hissed at him. Though she spoke in a lowered voice everyone in the room stilled, obviously eavesdropping, and a pair of technicians bent over laptops actually paused to turn and stare. 

"Now now," Pretorious chuckled nervously, glancing about at his suddenly attentive audience. "I'm hardly the first researcher to have a project go awry. That's why we have security, protocols-"

" _ YOU RAISED AGATHA VAN HELSING FROM THE DEAD IN SECRET! _ " the woman shouted at him. "You tricked my team into helping you-" here Bloxham nodded enthusiastically, wiping at her eyes, "-well aware that all active vampiric research falls under this Foundation's domain. How  _ could _ you?!" she demanded with a finger pointed at him in a vaguely threatening manner. To all this the man simply shrugged and Frank nervously chewed on a thumb nail. He had witnessed his Dark Lord feed and kill before but had yet to see Dr Helsing exhibit any such... fortitude. From the tension in the room, Frank was clearly not the only one pondering such a possible demonstration just then. 

"I didn't realize it was her at first," Pretorious eventually explained. "I'd been passed the first fragment by someone who understood my keen interest in-," the man cleared his throat and looked uneasy as he said the word, "mermaids." Frank blinked rapidly at that and managed to make a sensible note in the margins of his page about the fact.

"At no point did it register...?" Zoe asked, waving a hand at her face. "I have it on good authority the resemblance is  _ strong _ . It never caused you to pause?" 

"Well I did eventually figure it out," Dr Petreious huffed. "I did contact Bloxham after all, who helped me track down the... remaining elements."

The two stared at each other across the room for a long moment and slowly work resumed, the technicians turning back to their screens. "Father put you up to it, didn't he?" Dr Helsing eventually asked.

"Abraham might have reminded me of the possibility, yes," her uncle replied, looking anywhere other than at the furious woman before him. "But, Zoe, really- I was trying to spare you the bother."

"The bother?" she repeated, eyes narrowed. "What would it have bothered me? Oh, you mean the fact it would attract Dracula's attention? The bother of going through the proper procedures to avoid this very sort of outcome?"

"The regenerative elements open up such possibilities-"

"Septimus, you could have just  _ asked _ for a specimen!" she cried, causing another brief lull as everyone again paused to watch.

"Well she's out now," the man declared, "what are you going to do about it? As you said, handling such situations falls under your Foundations' jurisdiction, which is fortunate because this incident has destabilized several other branches. Years of research in some cases, gone up in smoke. Thankfully the fire started in Dr Jekyll's labs so we're not looking entirely to blame-"

" _ 'WE' _ ?" Dr Helsing interjected. "You mean you and Father? Because my labs have only the most tenuous connections to your-"

"A vampire broke out and slaughtered the staff of several teams. Dracula is unquestionably the source of her infection- I would rather say your labs are involved by default. Thankfully  _ we _ are not taking most of the blame but the situation will need to be contained instantly." He looked about the room once more bustling with activity. "I came here to convey that information to Dracula but it seems like he understands the necessity for speed and is already a step ahead of the teams?" This was addressed to Frank, who froze and blinked at the man rapidly, pen poised above the page.

Zoe rubbed her eyes and sighed heavily upon noticing him. "Frank, what are you still doing here? Please... leave."

"He's not here as Dracula's representative?" 

"No," the doctor replied just as Frank proudly stated "I am." The two traded unhappy looks and Frank shrank back slightly in the chair he sat. "He is the last person to have spoken to Dracula," she conceded after a moment, much to his surprise. "There... is a possibility he'll be contacted again- has anyone gotten my phone replace yet?" she cried, turning about to hassle her staff.

It didn't take long for Frank to be blissfully forgotten after that, left alone to his corner where he continued to happily scribble devotions to his Dark Lord along with the occasional note overheard that he imagined his Master might wish to know about. Immensely grateful to be allowed to stay, it was sadly not he that Dracula contacted next. 

"Mother fucker," the large fellow named Talbot muttered under his breath, gazing down at his phone less than an hour later. Dr Helsing was in conversation with a technician nearby Frank when the man wandered over so it was quite easy to listen in. Craning his neck as well as rising off his seat slightly allowed Frank to catch sight of the screen Talbot showed Dr Helsing. 

"Here boy," she read aloud, peering at it. "Wait, where is that?" Tapping at the pin included in the text message opened a map but Frank could not make out where as more folks crowded around. 

"Is that..?" "Where?" "Let me see!" Several people crowded in as Dr Helsing pushed free and went to the map. Grabbing a pen, she circled a location not far from where they were. It was one of many that Frank had seen them label as 'possibilities'.

"A church. I knew it." A scowl flickered across her face. "No, I don't think it's a trap," she muttered before turning to address the group in a raised voice. "Dracula has been located-"

"Located himself," Talbot muttered. 

"-and I believe it very likely Agatha to be with him. We're going to need a full team- ideally two, to roll out of here immediately.  _ Immediately _ ," she repeated, causing a number of her staff to jump and begin to disperse. "If that's agreeable with you?" she asked Talbot with a smile. The two traded glares interrupted only by Bloxham whose enthusiasm with the news was immediately diminished upon being informed she would not be allowed to go.

Frank was not surprised to be told he wasn't going with them and in fact should 'go home'- though coming from Dr Helsing he wasn't sure if that meant Dracula's flat or the shabby apartment he passed most his daylight hours since falling into the Count's employment. He was in the process of shoving his papers into his briefcase when the intern reappeared at the doorway, hovering for a moment in the face of all the frantic activity within. 

"Doctor! Dr Helsing," the young woman called, trying to catch the woman's attention.

"What is it now?" Zoe snapped, not looking up from the computer she was bent over.

"Mr Frankenstein... He... He..." the intern gulped nervously and in that dramatic pause everyone's attention in the room was captured. "He's waking up." Dr Helsing swore violently and threw up her hands.

"Now is NOT the time!" she cried, clenching her fists. "We have-" she halted mid-sentence and stared at empty space for a moment before lowering her arms and turning to intern. "He's what?"

The poor woman tried to simultaneously nod and shake her head resulting in a confused sort of bobble. "He's turned, doctor. And not just undead. He's," she gulped, "definitely tracking to be a vampire..." Zoe cursed again.

"Hold him until we get back. He'll have to wait to go through clearance. There's no time now- I need everyone with me as we deal with this. Now." She jerked her head towards the door. The crowd in the room filled out, the nervous intern trailing after them, and Frank was left alone. Nearly alone that is- he glanced across the room towards Bloxham who remained standing before the maps, hands clasped behind her back.

Unable to suppress his own curiosity, he wandered over to spy precisely where his Master was- or claimed to be. Pulling his phone out he glanced at it once again, saddened by the lack of notifications. When he looked up he caught Bloxham eyeing him carefully.

"Not really fair, is it?" she asked and he nodded. "Seems like they need all the help they can get." Again he nodded, keenly feeling the urge to be at his Master’s side. 

"Fancy a ride?" she asked in an innocent voice. 

"I- um," Frank stuttered and then froze as she held up a keychain and gave it a little shake. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pray for my soul, the next chapter is Dracula POV
> 
> Congratulations to any who have stuck with this so far- we've just cleared a plot hump and it should be fun for the next couple chapters... assuming I write them right (for they are so fun and pretty in my mind's eye). Seems like my cadence as slipped back to every-other-Monday posting which is kinda' lame but is what it is.


	9. It's The Pelvic Thrust

_🦇_ _[_ _🦇_ _[_ _🦇_ _earlier_ _🦇_ _]_ _🦇_ _]_ _🦇_

Of course she was already on the move by the time he got near enough to really start to sense her. Agatha had in fact reached the outskirts of the city just as Dracula neared it and he spent the final hour before sunrise trying to chase her down. In the olden days, when one of his ran, it was on foot. Maybe they were clever enough to steal a horse and in one instance commandeer a carriage. Bothersome, but easily tracked by the wolves of his land and reachable by a quick swarm. These days a fleeing victim was able to achieve quite inconvenient speeds- ones matched only by motorized vehicles, which had greater endurance but none of the charm his beastly methods possessed.

He'd just increased his motorcycle's speed, neatly slipping between two plodding cars that had fallen into a matched pace and clogged the motorway, when the sun unfortunately, yet inevitably, rose. That _shiver_ of old ran up his spine and in the same moment his _sense_ of Agatha flickered out. Swearing violently in his native tongue, Dracula swerved through traffic and plowed on ahead as he tried to decide what to do next.

With nearly nine hours of daylight it was an unpleasant game of guessing where she'd pop up next. There was some comfort to be had that she'd not been headed towards an airport but the fact Agatha was traveling at all was bothersome. It didn't take him long to approximately reach where he'd last sensed her- a moderately crowded strip of motorway lacking the burning wreckage that would have resulted had Agatha been driving herself. 

Never mind the woman presumably had _just_ awoken- having never sensed her before- Dracula was not surprised in the least she had been so clever in her attempts to escape him. The pleasure a good hunt gave him was as scarce as it was delicious. He would have been disappointed in her, really, had she tumbled too easily into his arms. 

Still, it was with some frustration that he jabbed at the appropriate controls to initiate a call with Renfield. There was the soil, first and foremost, to be concerned with and then a fitting wardrobe. Of course, whatever he'd gotten Zoe would fit her but he had far better ideas of how to dress Agatha that rather occupied his attention until Frank answered. 

"Oh, Master! Thank goodness you've called," was spoken in such a hurry that Dracula immediately regretted his decision to do so. Frank only sounded like that when stirred up about something. "Mr Bey's lawyer _contacted me_ ." This was spoken in a near hysterical whisper and Dracula felt another pang of regret. Victor's idea had apparently worked and he was one step closer to losing Agatha- a thought that caused him to shake his head in the briefest flash of confusion. No, he was pursuing Agatha _right now_. He knew it. What did Zoe's madness mean to him when compared to this exciting new fact? An Agatha in hand was worth countless in Zoe's head as it were. 

"Yes, I was expecting that. Schedule something for next week... or the week after," he muttered and was about to proceed when he heard a pained sort of whimper on the other end of the line. 

"Yes, ah," Frank mumbled, the sound of the man's pacing audible even with the poor connection and motorway noise. "Mr Bey will be here _this evening_." This was followed by a nervous sort of laugh. Dracula pressed his lips together, irritated by the obvious inconvenience. Perhaps Victor's idea had not been that helpful. "He- he just called, my Lord. I was going to inform you im- immediately, I am formulating an email right now- I- I know you don't like it when I call-" If the bastard had called at sunrise perhaps he was woefully misinformed about certain things. It seemed unlikely but Dracula didn't have time to ponder such thoughts. The issue of Agatha was far more pressing and interesting.

"Well tell Zoe when she wakes up-"

"Oh, she's not here, Master." Dracula nearly swerved into traffic. 

"She what? 

"She never returned to the flat..."

His thoughts whirled. Did she know about Agatha? She had never been able to detect any of her fellow Brides before... Did she still think him plotting with the board and her absence an expression of some sort of petulant anger? Or had she merely capitalized on his distraction and chosen to stay at work far too late. While the last seemed most probable, he was still wary and decided to hold off mentioning the soil to Frank to avoid stoking any further suspicion or ill will. Having been so focused on Agatha, he hadn't paid any attention to Zoe and now both were unconscious and temporarily beyond his reach. Dracula's grip on the bike tightened and he had to carefully reduce the speed at which he rode.

Not once had Zoe failed to return to the flat at dawn. While she'd complained about his demands- more than once negotiating for more time in her lab- she'd yet to be caught by sunrise outside the safety of home. Which meant she'd either been negligent or spiteful, either of which was enough to draw Dracula's ire. Seeing a quick solution and punishment in one, he instructed Frank to handle the situation and hung up. 

Of course he went straight to voicemail when he called Zoe. "I don't know what you think you're trying to prove but I don't like it," was all he said. Not appreciating the distraction, Dracula tried to focus on the problem at hand. He pulled off the motorway, working his way through the side streets, helmet off and nose raised to the wind as he tried to catch a more literal scent of Agatha. There was a very real chance she'd gone to ground somewhere nearby and while he could have called upon Frank or others to track the woman, Dracula found his own amusement in hunting her down the 'old fashioned' way.

The sun was setting by the time a faint pang of hunger licked at him. His gaze fell upon a solitary young woman, watering her garden up ahead on the the quiet suburban street he carefully rolled down. That he was even prowling such grounds, desperate for a hint of where Agatha might be sharpened his mood and the want to feed clashed terribly with the idea that he should not. What was his promise to Zoe now? Shaking his head, Dracula tried to decide on whether he would bite the woman or not... when it became suddenly clear to the Count that his diet was poisoning him. Eating so many cultists had shed too romantic of light on Zoe- there was no other explanation as to why he'd continue to give into her whims. He needed some roughage, as it were- something he meant to correct at the next opportunity. It did unfortunately also mean that the sweet little innocent was off the menu. She waved hello to him as he rolled by and Dracula smiled as he nodded to her.

While he'd merely ignored work notifications all day to spite Dr Helsing, he now silenced the pesky device in preparation for what was to come. With mounting excitement he circled back and approached the motorway, ready for the moment the sun slipped below the horizon. When it did, he immediately leapt in pursuit of that hint of Agatha flickering on his mental horizon. She'd been moved a ways away, far but not too far....

🦇 🦇 🦇 🦇 🦇 🦇 🦇 🦇 🦇 🦇 🦇 🦇

It'd taken him several laborious hours to track her down and hadn't even been rewarded with the thrill of her running about, trying to escape. No, it'd become quite clear for the last leg of it where she likely was thanks to his unnatural senses and Google Maps. A church. How typical.

In the meantime he'd spared just enough attention to verify his sense of Zoe did indeed place her at work, which softened his anger into pity. The foolish woman, when left to her own devices, made such terrible decisions- it was such a shame. 

Unsurprisingly a moderately aged church of weathered stone and overgrown hedges greeted him when he reached the end of the road as it were. The building stood a ways off from a nearly empty parking lot and a courtyard huddled before it with no other signs of civilization nearby. Pulling off the side of the road a ways away, Dracula drummed his fingers on the helmet he'd just removed. Looking down at the bike and then up to the church he debated his options. There were fantasies abound to indulge in if she came with him willingly- that she'd cling to him while he took them back home was one of the most fanciful and unrealistic. While Dracula supped on pretty thoughts, he was not prey to them and could well guess how likely Agatha would greet him with open arms. 

Pulling out his phone, he tapped it thoughtfully and decided having someone else haul the struggling vampire home would be best. Subduing her was something he'd relish but Dracula had already tried to transport her once against her will and it hadn't gone as well as he'd liked. Besides, there were reasons one had servants. **_'HERE BOY'_ ** he texted the beast, thinking at the very least he could charm her with the creature. He did so love how she shared his interests.

Tucking his phone back into a coat pocket, Dracula abandoned his motorcycle and approached the church on foot. If she wouldn't draw this out by fleeing then he would- circling her hiding spot like a hungry wolf. The fact she'd no doubt laid a trap and had proven to be frustratingly good at them deterred him from entering immediately, allowing him to savor the feeling of caution that guided him. It'd been so long since he'd felt actual concern- the threat of the unknown- that he paused for a moment to enjoy it and listen. For there was a sound...

"What _have_ you gone and done, Agatha?" Dracula whispered to the night before resuming his prowling towards the writhing mass of heartbeats and motion within the church.

He figured it out before he'd entered the courtyard. A particular heartbeat is sometimes hard to precisely pin down- he knew they'd been small, smaller than that of a human child- but the sound of constant fluttering and stirring of wings tipped him off. Birds, dozens of them- presumably pigeons from all he'd seen in the modern era- struggled against a most dire of fates given the speed at which their many little hearts went pitter patter. Cocking his head to the side he was disappointed that he could not hear any bats- not that he could differentiate individual heart beats with all that noise, but the squeaks of his favorite flying beast were quite distinctive and notably absent.

Crawling up an exterior wall, clinging to the edge of a window, he peered in. Up close her handy work was even louder, a particular pigeon desperately throwing itself at the window through which he looked, his sight into the dark depths of the chapel repeatedly disrupted and obscured by a wing slapped against glass. The feathered body pressed up before him as tiny feet scrabbled for a perch they would not find, eventually going limp and falling down only to swing about, dangling from a long cord tied to its foot. Another bird took its place, battering at the window for a brief spell.

He saw her, of course, standing at the head of the nave, arms crossed and waiting for him. She must know he was at the window and for a perverse moment contemplated tapping the glass like an eager child. The clothing she wore was surprising in how nondescript and modern it was- dressed in a t-shirt and jeans she looked at a glance like any common woman- but the motionless poise with which she held herself was unmistakably that of the vampire. 

Deciding to go for a more dignified approach, Dracula scrambled down and moved to stand before the church a moment, straightening his suit. One of the massive entryway doors was ajar and he nudged it open carefully with a foot. "Hello there," he breathed, pausing at the threshold to admire the sight within.

"Count Dracula," Agatha acknowledged with a faint dip of the head and his motionless heart fairly leapt to hear that familiar voice. Here was his _real_ Agatha and she'd assembled a writhing, rustling masterpiece above them in anticipation of his arrival. He was in equal parts flattered and concerned. "Took your time getting here," she chided him as he carefully approached. He'd only reached the back row of the pews when she raised a hand and said "Ah- that's far enough."

Of course there was an urge to swoop in and gather her into his arms. He rolled his lower lip between his teeth, sharp with hunger, and grinned at her. Clasping his hands behind his back, he obediently paused and was content to watch her. This was to be relished, not rushed. There was a shuffling sound- faint but he heard it easily enough. Scanning the room, noting the blanket politely draped over the cross, Dracula nodded.

"Rather unoriginal choice, isn't it?" he asked tipping his head at her and smiling. "Appreciate the covered cross though- very thoughtful. Do you find yourself equally affected these days?" Eyes narrowed, skeptical of such a fate, he mostly wondered if she'd lie to him about it. "By the way," he added, conversationally, "if that undead I hear shuffling around drops any more of those communion wafers I will rip its head off and then whatever remaining limbs it might have."

Agatha pursed her lips before calling off into the darkness, "It's no good, Sokolov, put them away. Yes, away. Put it away." With a sigh, she raised both hands to gesture empathically, waving at the lumbering shadow which did eventually draw back into a vestibule to lurk. "And no, I still find the cross no more or less repellent than I did _in life_ ." At this she smiled and Dracula felt himself do so in return. "Ahhh, yes. It _is_ such a strange thing to say."

"Hmmm, it will grow old after a while," he shared, licking his lips and taking a step forward, which earned him a scowl. "But it does take time... Which you now have quite a lot of. Tell me, what's your plan after holing up in here?Thinking of taking up vows again?" He laughed at this and she smiled politely at him. "It does all reset with death, doesn't it?" Dracula watched her carefully. "The whole 'Bride of Christ' thing...? Because I believe there may be a competing offer."

"Ha!" Agatha laughed sharply at that, which Dracula took as a good sign. "No, I believe I have had quite enough of being the Bride. To anyone," she added, quickly putting an end to his more hopeful outcomes.

"How unfortunate," he sighed, "for you." She rolled her eyes at him. "Planning on settling down here then, living a pious life of isolation, restraint, and... birding?" The strange collection of pigeons tethered to the ceiling continued to distract him and he neatly stepped to the side, avoiding a fresh splatter of bird shit that painted the already well decorated church floor. "What _are_ they for?"

"They are part of my trap," she explained waving a hand dismissively. "Obviously."

"Hmmmm." Watching her closely, he rubbed his chin. "Yes, always planning... I liked that about you, you know. Not one to idle about." She snorted, seemingly amused by this. "Tell me, when exactly did you construct this trap of yours? I've not _sensed_ you till now- you've been a vampire for all of... twenty four hours? Less?"

"Your ego, Count, remains just as I remember it. _No_ , I have not been laying in wait, slumbering passively these years since we... last spoke." When he demanded to know where she'd been hiding she shrugged. "Not even I know- last I remember I was being torn limb from limb in the depths of the ocean."

"Hurts, doesn't it?" he asked dryly, not wanting to give her the satisfaction of shock. "I mean, I've never lost all mine at the same time, but it does sting, doesn't it? Although," his eyes narrowed, studying her anew given this claim, "you must have at some point returned to your home land- how else did you... regain them?" There was something strange about her, he realized now. Looking her up and down, he re-assessed her appearance, noting the ease at which she wore her modern clothing and the color on her cheeks. "You've fed on human blood, Agatha. Recently." She was flush with it and it muddied and muted an underlying strangeness he couldn't quite put his finger on. 

"Ah, but only out of necessity," she began to reply, as if caught in nothing more than an embarrassing faux pas. "Well, yes, that first one may have been an accident, the woman was leaning over me and I... I really was hardly fully conscious. I was confused and then there was all this blood... in my mouth..." Agatha paused here, a look of horror briefly stealing over her face and as he studied the woman more thoroughly Dracula began to notice differences... from the other Agatha.

While Agatha, in possession of Zoe's body, had moved stiffly, clearly unhappy in the clinging clothing the doctor had furnished her with, this Agatha moved with a liquid ease that Zoe was only just beginning to develop. The thinly pressed, downturned lips were the same, the gaze equally sharp, but there was just the slightest tilt of the head that differentiated them. A lift to this one's chin that suggested an even greater degree of pride- if such a thing were possible in Agatha van Helsing. Dracula fought back the urge to lick his lips in hunger.

"Ahhhh, lovely, wasn't it?" he asked with relish. Just the thought of her feeding stirred him and he took another step forward. This earned him a glare and Agatha took a matching step back, raising a finger in warning.

"Yes, which continues to be a rather upsetting fact." 

"Don't tell me you just stopped at _one_?" he pressed, pursing his lips and studying her features, flushed and looking exactly as he'd remembered back on the Demeter. Her hair hung loose about gaunt cheeks but there was color to them, a pink to those tightly pressed lips turned down at the corners with the weight of her disapproval. There was no question she'd fed well but he wanted to hear her confess to it nonetheless. "The blood lust- it can be a bit... overwhelming, don't you think?"

"Overwhelming? I do not know if I would call it that. Only one of them was.... was an accident." Here she looked away from him, lifting her gaze to the tangled mess of birds above them. "And while I was confused, I will admit I recalled you saying that in blood you found information. Answers. So I bit the next one hoping to find some clarity."

"Clarity, hmmm?" Dracula licked his lips and took another step forward, eager to find his own clarity in her veins.

"The first attempt- it was very confusing," she confessed, again retreating with a warning look. "But by the third I believed I was getting the hang of it- any more after that would have been... gluttonous."

His amusement at her confession to indulging in blood was brought up short by this fact. "You what?" 

"I _abstained_ ," she enunciated most clearly and then laughed. "The way you describe it, you make it sound _so impossible_ to overcome but... " she sniffed and lifted her chin, "I believe I see now that it was just one of your many weaknesses."

"My weaknesses," he repeated, still attempting a smile but finding his amusement drying up.

"Yes! You have so many it seems." She shook her head, still grinning, before casting a brief, pointed look in the direction of the covered cross. "Oh, I agree the blood is temping. And rewarding. But all temptations are possible to overcome." Her smile as she said this was most unfriendly and Dracula covered the turmoil this stirred in him with a rather dramatic rolling of his eyes.

"You _clearly_ haven't had the good stuff, which is reasonable. As you said- bottom of the ocean. Have no worries, I know where all the best meals are and I look forward to sampling them with you, Agatha. Beloved-"

Again she shook her head and laughed. "Oh no, Count Dracula. You are mistaken. You will be _dead_. Destroyed," she quickly clarified before he could point out the obvious. "I have been to the darkest depths and returned- held by Death but denied my release-" 

"Oh I'd never-" he started but she spoke over him.

"I have... _perceived_ things. Things no mortal could ever encounter and comprehend... I have journeyed far and my return was threatened- _resisted_ by creatures far darker than yourself." She chuckled, "Believe me when I tell you, you simply need to learn to control yourself."

"Wait- you're saying there's things more evil than me?" he demanded, taking mock offense at the claim to avoid the suggestion she simply did not feel the same compulsions he did. All his other Brides had been the same has him- worse in fact. He reluctantly recalled how the other version of her had also turned away from an open wound and his sense of unease and interest increased. 

"You have no idea," shaking her head, lips quirked in a smile, she turned away to face the covered cross.

"Agatha, Beloved," Dracula tried again, "that all sounds lovely, or terrible- depends on how you want to spin it- I don't care. I'll be happy to hear all the details- just... Come with me, Agatha. You are unquestionably my finest Bride," smiling, he held out his hand. "Come away with me now and I will listen till the ends of time whatever it is you wish to tell me." Holding out both his hands now, he beckoned her towards him. 

"Not a Bride," she reminded him, smiling indulgently over her shoulder. "And you are not _listening_ now. You will not be around for the end of time. You are a plague, Dracula, that will be cleansed from this Earth."

He sighed heavily at this, arms dropping. "So that's how it's going to be... pity. This would have gone much easier if you'd just see how good things could be..."

"A pity? I have no pity for you, Count Dracula," she sneered, turning back around and taking a slow step away from him. Though she retreated there was no hint of fear in her, it was as if they were performing a dance together and Dracula, playing his part, took another eager step in pursuit. "I'm going to enjoy picking you apart," she whispered most seductively, to his ear, "one way or another. I do want answers before I destroy you... and by then you'll be begging to tell me whatever I want."

"Oh I have _no doubt_ ," he laughed before tipping his head back and licking his lips. He tucked his hands in coat pockets in an attempt to fight the urge to grab her just then. "But we've already played that game."

"Oh?" she asked, arching an eyebrow and drawing back further.

"You bested me once before," he whispered in a warm voice, rich with emotion. "Twice if I'm honest. Now, I appreciate that, but I won't let it happen a-"

It was of course in that moment, as he stepped forward once more, that a terrible cracking could be heard and a large section of the roof caved in on Dracula's head. The sheer audacity of it's timing held him in place a moment too long and the massive wooden center beam, which bashed him quite wickedly on the head on its way down, managed to pierce his chest. It tore through him, erupting from just above the hip on the opposite side and pinned him quite securely to the cracked stonework beneath him. In place of pain, the Count felt a ripple of extreme discomfort- shocking in it's intensity- roll over him and it continued to make itself known as he struggled against the bothersome splinter that fixed him in place. The various other beams and chunks of ceiling that piled atop and about him did not help, the glass that followed it inflicting no further harm but whispered and cracked as he moved. Buried under a mountain of rubble that he was not immediately able to free himself from, Dracula remained calm. 

"How fortunate," Agatha said, approaching from the safe distance away she'd maintained the entire time, "it looks to have missed the heart." She'd of course plucked the cloth from the cross, making it difficult to look in her direction. Somewhere around his shin Dracula could feel a tickling as one of the birds still retained enough life to struggle. "It would be a shame if it ended too soon." Even the smallest sip of life would help in a moment like this and the debris shifted with Dracula's efforts to reach a nearby, weakening heartbeat. "I have been imagining this moment for so long..."

He could tell when the scent of his blood reached her and he paused in his struggles to watch her closely. There was a widening of the eyes, a parting of the lips that suggested a crack in her perfect composure. Agatha swayed on her feet and took a step towards him before the woman was tugged backwards, a loud groan echoing in the now much more silent, much more cluttered space. His view mostly blocked by the wreckage surrounding and impaling him, Dracula craned his neck and could see nothing more than the rotted arm of her pesky undead companion holding her in place. The wet, muddled sound that accompanied it could hardly be called speech but clearly Agatha found something in it.

"You're right, Sokolov," she said, turning her head to the side and taking a shuddering breath. "I... I," she struggled a moment more, raising the cloth she still held to her face, and then was pulled further away by the wretched corpse. 

"Here now," Dracula croaked from where he was buried, "I don't appreciate anyone interfering with my Brides, alive or undead. Hands off her, Captain!" The wood appeared to have nicked his right lung, which was filling rapidly with some fluid or another and it lent a most undignified burble to his speech. 

Ignoring him, Agatha instructed the barely still functioning Sokolv to 'wash away the temptation' and pointed it towards a bowl of what Dracula presumed to be holy water, though it hardly looked as such with stray feathers and a notable streak of bird shit floating in it.

To sate her hunger, Agatha approached the rubble and dug out a feebly trashing bird, easily snapping the tether that held it. The thing was well on its way to death, with one wing already left behind in the debris, and Agatha quickly put it out of its misery- neatly plucking it's little head off and flicking it away before bringing the spluttering blood this produced to her lips. She then fished out three more birds, squeezing out what blood she could from them before retreating back to the front of the church. Dracula spluttered and cursed through all this as he tried in vain to dodge the cups of water tossed at him by the undead captain. The harm it inflicted was more against his pride than person but Agatha noticeably relaxed as the filthy water diluted and washed away much of his blood.

As traps went, it seemed to have been a rather good one. The damage inflicted was impressive, nothing that couldn't be mended with a good day's rest but it did make extracting himself difficult. While he could make a swift exit, he would have difficulty dragging Agatha with him in such a form. As he lay back, no longer straining against the wreckage that pinned him, Dracula congratulated himself on the forethought to summon his men. He was going to look very clever when they arrived and, overlooking his spilled intestines and crushed bones, he didn't particularly mind the wait. 

Water dripping from his extremely mussed hair, Dracula gave what little portion of himself he could still move a shake. He'd just opened his mouth to congratulate her when there was a _sound_ where there shouldn't be one. Neck craning again, he tried to track the scrambling noise he heard despite the fact it issued from an empty corner. He could sense Agatha watching him, glancing back at her twice to verify her attention though he noted her lack of concern. 

"You said you'd kill him!" a voice cried from where no one stood.

"I am not finished," Agatha answered in an offended tone.

"Well hurry up," there was a clatter of items and then a blanket leapt into the air and hovered in place. It took Dracula a good moment to realize it was wrapped around shoulders. Air rattled in his throat as he drew a breath to remark upon this fact. "Hurry up, hurry up," the voice continued in an increasing pitch as Dracula paused and narrowed his eyes at the empty space. 

"A ghost?" he eventually asked in vague confusion. Agatha was a ghost- or so he believed- but she could not manifest in such a way... but perhaps she could? It was something he looked forward to asking her next he saw her- or rather Zoe that was. His wandering thoughts in regards to Agatha were cut short by the more tangible Agatha before him.

"Griffin, get ahold of yourself. Collect your samples- and I've changed my mind- two for me as well. Then go wait in the car." Her eyes glittered in the newly admitted moonlight as she smiled at the Count. "I don't feel myself in a particular rush."

Dracula gave her a tight lipped smile in return as he wondered if he should have messaged his team sooner. The invisible man complained at this, the name or perhaps voice just barely familiar. "If you leave now," Dracula informed the hovering collection of clothing that had been pulled together, concealing nothing but rather further defining the abnormality, "I probably won't kill you. But you'd have to move fast. Best start now."

The shirt, pants, and toolbox hung for a moment, their stillness betraying hesitation, and Agatha quickly spoke up. "Don't listen to him, he'd kill you either way." When this didn't seem motivation enough, she snapped, "Hurry up!" which did eventually drive the invisible fellow towards Dracula, something he found rather impressive.

If the man- for it was a man, Dracula's sight may have been fooled but in the much silenced church he could now smell and hear the mortal well enough- had been witless enough to get within reach, he'd have been dead that very moment. Instead, the man approached one of Dracula's legs, bent oddly and also pinned such that he couldn't move it. The bone had been snapped and needed to be set before he could heal it, which meant he was unable to lash out and kick at the approaching clothing. There were few lacerations, but enough damage had been inflicted such that a series of vials hovering, swooping through the air- manipulated by unseen hands- were able to easily scoop up whatever had spilled out of the vampire and Dracula felt- rather distantly- something prying and prodding at his split flesh.

"What is this, Agatha?" he asked, hating the wet sound that crept into his voice when he spoke her name.

"As I once said, Count Dracula... I wish to learn about you. And it seems," she waved a hand at the retreating toolbox that the capped vials had been tucked into, "there are new ways to pull insights from even the most reluctant of subjects."

"Who said I was reluctant?" he forced out, wheezing as the wound in his chest made an unfortunate sucking noise. "I'm willing to give you anything, Agatha. Everything." She cocked an eyebrow at this and approached.

There was no sensual sway to the hips, just careful, deliberate steps as she navigated the rubble that surrounded him. Still, he was transfixed by her movement as much as the beam in his chest. The soft glow the moonlight streaming in granted her heightened his admiration and demanded his full attention. He barely registered the invisible man escaping through the front doors as Agatha began to slowly climb the wreckage of the collapsed roof. 

What he felt couldn't really be called pleasure, not with the massive fragment of wood lodged in him and displacing so many internal organs, but watching her mount the little hill she'd brought down upon him was certainly stimulating, interesting without doubt. Dracula tried to shift beneath the debris but of course found no improved position. Eventually, dropping down to hands and knees, Agatha crawled to the peak to perch several feet above his chest and Dracula found his situation both improved and frustratingly unhelpful. It was rather charming, the way she draped over a beam, resting her chin upon tucked hands while gazing down upon him in silence for quite some time. Perfect, if not for the rubble the stood between them and atop him.

"Will this kill you? Eventually?" she asked, reaching forward to press on the beam spearing him. 

"Of course not," he coughed, some fresh blood forcing its way up past his lips. Though she licked her hers in turn, attention clearly caught by this, Agatha unfortunately did not lean down to kiss him. Not yet at least. 

"But it holds you here now?"

"That would be your charming company," he whispered though it was hard to sound seductive with the gurgle that crept into his words. Agatha hummed at that and shifted to sit back up, digging something from her pants pocket. 

"So you're willing to give me anything?" She didn't meet his gaze as she repeated his offer, sounding almost coy as she fidgeted with something out of sight.

"If you'd just... assist me at the moment and agreed to stay by my side- yes. Anything. Everything." He tried to stress the truth in his words and succeeded in only surfacing more of the blood that pooled in his damaged lung. Here was the healthy competition he longed for.

"I somehow remain skeptical." Brushing her hair out of her face, she leaned forward again, cruelly smiling down at him. "But let us test this- answer my question honestly and I shall release you, Count Dracula." He knew what was coming before she said it and was therefore able to keep the disappointment from showing when she asked, "Why do you fear the cross?"

A furrow formed between his brow as he frowned at her which did nothing more than inspire a sharp laugh. "A most reluctant subject, as I expected," she chuckled and brought forward what she'd pulled from her pocket- a vial. Cap already removed, she extended her arm and held it over him.

"Tell me," she repeated, "why do you fear the cross?" When he remained silent she tipped vial above him and let three small drops escape the edge of it. The substance within was tremendously corrosive- in a way that Dracula had not yet witnessed in all his dabbling around the fringes of science. The way it worked into and through his flesh wasn't _exactly_ painful but it still drew a cry from him. 

While Agatha- the other one- had threatened him, she'd come nowhere near as close to actually troubling him as this _real_ Agatha did. For troubled he was. In fact, the horror he felt feeling flesh part and melt away as he strained and writhed to avoid it was like nothing he'd experienced these last several centuries. It was arousing and revolting at the same time and the cry that had escaped him twisted into a hysterical laugh as the vile liquid finally escaped the underside of his shoulder to drip down and continue it's violent march in accordance to gravity.

"Now that's interesting," he gasped, struggling to get control of himself even as he felt the lingering effects of the substance parting him from his arm. "Find that on your long walk about in the depths of the ocean?"

"No," Agatha laughed again, raising it to admire the cursed item. "It was in the lab where they awoke me... There was a foolish girl who wanted to throw it at me, I see now I was correct to dodge out of the way."

"The lab?" he shook his head to clear it, trying to pay no mind to the limb he was in the process of losing. How long was it till his men arrived?

"Hmmm, the _laboratory,_ " she expanded the word, her voice shifting in the same way his did when accessing a particular memory from blood. "That repaired me."

"Who was that again?" it took all his effort to keep his tone light and jovial, though will alone could not keep the wet sound from it, "I'll have to thank them for their efforts." 

"Hmmm," she hummed, holding out the vial again. "If I encounter any other survivors, I'll pass on your gratitude. You, I'm afraid, will not be going anywhere... other than hell." The bite of more acidic substance chewed through his other shoulder and Dracula howled in frustration and rage. This was definitely not going how he'd hoped. 

"How was it?" he panted, speaking in shorter breaths to combat the loss of his fully drowned lung. "Hell. Any good .. company ... down there?"

This amused her and she replaced the cap on her vial, tucking it away as she again leaned forward to gaze down at him. "It was very cold. And very dark. And the company.... I don't think you'd enjoy it."

Thinking fast, he tried to charm her further, asking about her dark adventure. She was evasive and Dracula's thoughts raced, focusing more on keeping her talking than what she was hinting at. Twice more she tried to ask about the cross and his failure to answer earned him further splashes of whatever it was in that vial. She was careful enough with the corrosive liquid that it got nowhere near the beam pinning him down, though in his current state it was doubtful he'd be able to make much use of such a liberty at that point. The burble in his lungs was drained by a burning trail that etched it's way through the right side of his chest, the exit out the back letting the pooled blood within escape and leaving him now with a horrible sucking sound when he drew breath to speak. 

"Why do you deny me such basic information?" she eventually asked, twitching the vial above him in threat. "I have another one of these, do not think draining this will end your suffering."

This pulled a wheezing laugh from him. Obviously the moment was not exactly how he'd wished it- to hold her in both arms would have been preferred and he worried he'd soon have none left if she tipped out more of her witches brew onto him- but to have her perched there, it was truly a sight he'd longed to behold. Suffering was far from the word he'd use to describe the current situation and he taunted her with the truth. "Agatha, don't you understand? I cannot be beaten. Not by death, not by you..."

"How about a stake through the heart?" she asked, wrenching a large fragment from a cracked beam beside her.

He eyed it, smiling faintly as she waved it about. "I'm beginning to question even that ... though I'm in no hurry to test it quite yet," he quickly amended as her grip on the impromptu weapon shifted.

"I promise to save it for last then." She tested the point with her finger before setting it aside. "But I don't imagine I'll need it. The Bride of yours I met in the _laboratory_ I awoke in did not require it..." At her words, the humor slipped from Dracula's expression and he struggled to reach out with his senses. Watching him closely, Agatha mocked him, "Oh, so you _are_ familiar with the place? I thought perhaps you'd just grown careless with your creations- leaving them behind in evil hands or summoning them to their doom- like this... _Zoe_."

Dracula bared his teeth at this, not appreciating the sudden turn to her threats. It was true that now he looked for it, he could find no sense of Harmony. Zoe, however, he could detect was rapidly approaching, drawing near presumably in the company of his summoned beasts. From the way Agatha turned her head, she too could possibly sense the woman. Glancing back down at him she smiled tightly. "I've been told you've found someone to take my place?" She tipped her head inquisitively at him. "A Dr Zoe Helsing, yes?" 

A frantic mirth rose within him, the worry and delight of his Brides meeting a thought he'd rather avoid contemplating just then. "Oh, Agatha, you have no idea... Zoe, she-" He laughed and shook his head, unease for Zoe's well being preventing him from saying anything further. One had to be careful when introducing Brides to each other. 

"I hope she is not too endearing- I would hate to get attached," Agatha sighed. "I think I sense her, in fact." Furrowing her brow, she looked up again. "Somewhere... over there.... "

"You leave her alone," he warned her, not liking the direction this was going. Agatha just laughed, tucking her hair behind an ear as she extended the vial above him again.

"Weren't you listening, Dracula? You are a plague. All that you have infected must be cleansed." She again lifted and turned her head, like a hound catching a scent. "Yes, definitely getting closer now..."

It became instantly clear to Dracula that Zoe and his other Agatha would stand no chance against this creature. He was torn between admiration at the effectiveness of her threats and the need to keep her here till his men arrived. To swarm away to freedom now would be no neat escape or clever exit to spite some onlooker but an act of cowardice and he knew it. He knew it and the knowledge, and his pride, held him place a moment too long because rather than further torture him or attack his presumably vulnerable heart Agatha tipped a drop of liquid to fall, shimmering in the moonlit darkness, and splash most horrifically upon his left eye. Something beyond pain- an emptiness that transcended the flesh, shot threw him and Dracula's thoughts were thrown into not just disarray but absence. In the widening chasm of his mind, he grasped at a vital and rapidly fleeting fact. _Zoe_ . Zoe needed to get away. _Zoe was not to come here,_ he willed towards any and every creature that his influence touched. 

She was speaking again but he couldn't hear her in the emptiness that ate through him. He drew upon the power- the _will-_ that would let him shed this mutilated form but a second burst of corrosion and nothingness blossomed just below his other eye. He'd missed the dropplet's descent and caught only a final glimpse of Agatha peering inquisitively down upon him before vision was denied him- his ability to flee or the will to do so dissolving along with much of the surrounding flesh.

Straining in a final, futile attempt to escape, the rubble atop him shifted and groaned. Somehow he knew Agatha drew near, finally crawling down the small mountain she'd perched atop. He knew this though he could no longer see her and knew she hovered just above him. There was the whisper of lips next to his, her tongue darting out to taste the blood still on his chin and she breathed words against his cheek that he again could not hear.

  
_Agatha,_ he tried to warn them. _Zoe_. He could feel himself shutting down, the flesh already attempting to knit itself together but not fast enough, not able to keep up with the growing corruption. And thus, not for the first time this decade, Dracula succumbed to his injuries and slipped into unconsciousness.

**Author's Note:**

> Posting now as a birthday treat to myself... have some of it written, some more of it plotted... we'll see how it goes. Hoping to update weekly.


End file.
